The Next Legendary Sannins
by MissxRae
Summary: Sakura is tormented by her emotions for a certain someone as she grows older. Team 7 looks like it has died, or has it? Are they becoming the exact replicas of the Legendary Sannins? [SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, KakaAnko, GenShizu]
1. The Blooming Cherry Blossom

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto and its characters (unfortunately). Copyrighted by Masashi Kishimoto.

**A/N: **Yay! This is my _first_ fanfic! So prepare yourself for the ride of your life...I guess haha.

I'm a _HUGE_ SasuxSaku fan, so this fic mainly revolves around this angsty couple. Don't worry, I'm not excluding the other Naruto characters (like I briefly claimed in the short summary). You'll see various characters (especially couples) speckled about in this story.

Anyway, on with the story!

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Sakura looked up at the fluffy clouds blanketing the beautiful sunny sky over Konohagakure. She was standing at the bridge where Team 7 used to meet up for training back when they were 12-year-old genins. She chuckled at the recollection of Naruto and her screaming at Kakashi-sensei for being late and hearing his silly excuses. Then she remembered…_him_. She looked at the bridge railing and remembered how he would casually rest his elbows on them and give his usual smirk to all of them. _I miss all of that_…she thought to herself.

She is now a 17-year-old medical-nin in the ANBU squad. She's currently the top ranked medical-nin in Konoha, along side Tsunade-sama and Shizune. It was thanks to Tsunade's tutelage that got Sakura to where she is at right now. She has the potential to even surpass Tsunade and Shizune.

She looked at her own reflection in the streaming water. Her appearance changed in a mature way; she grew out of her big forehead and her emerald orbs showed a more seductive look, rather than the innocent look she used to have. Her light pink hair grew to the bottom of her back, which she consistently puts up in a ponytail. She grew womanly curves and shed her baby-like body. Her breasts grew to fill into a C-cup, and her legs are much longer and very slender. She definitely grew up to be a beautiful young lady.

Sakura has endured a lot throughout the years. She saw Sasuke's departure from Konoha right before her eyes and her heart broke into a millions pieces because she couldn't convince him to stay. In her heart, she knew that she still loves him. She realized how deep her love for Sasuke has become as years went by without his presence nearby her. It was unbearable for her to endure, but she kept holding on. There were times when she would have mental breakdowns in the middle of the night and would have trouble falling asleep. She would sneak out of her house and stroll around Konoha just to relieve her troubles. She would retreat towards the forest training grounds and just sprawl on the grass, looking up at the stars, secretly wishing on each and every one of them for Sasuke to come back to her.

_I wonder if he ever thinks about me and the others? I wonder if he ever misses us? I wonder how he looks like now? _All these questions kept racing through Sakura's mind.

Naruto and Lee were especially alert of Sakura's depression and were increasingly worried about her. They would shower her with gifts, dates, and ramen, but these gestures weren't enough to mend her broken heart. Even Ino made many attempts to hook Sakura up with many suitors in the village, but she rejected all of them because she was obviously not over Sasuke. Sure Sakura was the top ANBU medical-nin, but this honorary title didn't do much to change her attitude. A lot of people were aware that she's still head-over-heels for Sasuke, but she tried her best to cover up her sadness with a facsade that was too easy for everyone to see through. They knew that she never gave her usual trademark Sakura smile like she used to. The gleam in her eyes was barely noticeable now, compared to back then. They knew that their old Sakura was hidden away in the depths of despair. They wanted her to come back to them, but in order for that to happen, Sasuke had to come back to her.

Sakura also recollected the time when Naruto came back after 2 and a half years of private training with Jiraiya-sama. Naruto and she became teammates under the guidance of their old sensei, Kakashi. Their strength grew when they encountered each other. She remembered how she encountered a fight with the members of Akatsuki and she fought her hardest along side Chiyo-sama. It was extremely difficult, but they finally beat Akatsuki. Unfortunately, Itachi escaped the scene. He wasn't seen ever since. Sakura wondered where he went and if he was causing trouble in the location he was at. Naruto and she were also determined to find Orochimaru but they couldn't locate him. She wished he would burn in hell already and return Sasuke to them. She cringed at the thought.

After the fight with Akatsuki, they all returned to Konoha. Sakura promised herself that she would get stronger and was even more determined to find Orochimaru, kill him, and get Sasuke back. Everyday she forced herself to train hard, with the help of Tsunade and Kakashi. Her strength increased and she learned new jutsus. She tried out to become a member of the ANBU squad at the age of 16-years-old, and she passed with flying colors. ANBU was in desperate need of medical nins, and Sakura applied at the best time. Besides, she is a strong and intelligent kunoichi. Sakura did many missions, some in which she almost got killed in. Luckily she's now strong enough to defend herself, unlike the past, when she kept depending on Naruto and _him_.

"Yo, Sakura!" Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts and turned to see Kakashi strolling with Anko. She was surprised to see them wear casual clothing. Anko was wearing a ¾ sleeve button-up sea foam green top with dark denim flares and black boots. She had her hair up as usual with that unique spikey hairstyle, and her face was still beautiful. Kakashi was wearing a plaid button up top with dark denim pants and brown shoes. Unbelievably, he didn't wear his mask. Sakura remembers when she first saw her sensei's face at his 30th birthday party, she remembered at the shock of how handsome he looked. He's like an older version of Sasuke. But looking at Kakashi in_ that_ kind of way is just wrong; he is her sensei and she is his subordinate. After all, Kakashi and Anko are together. They look really great together.

"Hey Sakura, what are you doing here?" she asked her as she stood next to Sakura on the bridge.

"Hey Anko-san and Kaka-sensei, I'm just resting after the training I did just earlier. It's so tranquil to look at the streaming water. It makes me contemplate." Anko nodded and looked over Sakura's tattered red zip-up top, beige skirt, and black shorts.

"Sakura hun, you've been training yourself very hard lately. You should rest a little since there won't be any important ANBU missions this week. Hey, you can hang out with Kakashi and I. Right now we're just strolling around this area, and we'll go to the Nakamura Sushi restaurant later on for Genma-kun's birthday celebration." Anko politely offered Sakura.

"Yeah Sakura, Anko and I were talking about the students earlier, including you. We're thinking that you've been stressing yourself out way too much lately. You really need a break. But I don't know if you should hang out with Anko and I; she tends to talk a lot and I stop listening after 10 minutes of her babbling—"Anko transported next to Kakashi and hit him over the head with a hard punch.

"Aa! Gomenesai, hun! I was only kidding, ha ha!" Kakashi defended while rubbing his head. Anko gave him a death glare.

"If you make another insult, I'll burn your newest copy of Icha Icha Tactics!" Anko threatened while shaking her fist.

The couple heard a sound and turned towards Sakura to see her laughing her head off. They were shocked to see this since it has been ages since she had an outburst of laughter. "You 2 crack me up so much! No wonder both of you are a couple! Very cute and hilarious!" The jounins smiled at her and were proud of displaying an amusing moment for Sakura to laugh at.

"I'm just kidding, Sakura. Come, hang out with us!" Kakashi offered.

"OK then. I need company anyways, or else I'll go insane recollecting all of these thoughts…again!"

"We don't want that to happen now!" Anko said to Sakura. Kakashi nodded and they started to walk away from the bridge.

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	2. Genma's Birthday Bash!

**A/N:** It's one of my favorite character's birthday bash! Keep in mind that his birthday is on July 17, so that's when this event is taking place (duh).

Shizune is one lucky girl, and so is Anko...to have such GORGEOUS GUYS as their boyfriends!

OK, enough of my rambling...

This chapter will be on the comedic and fluffy side. Strong language is also present, so don't say that I didn't warn you!

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Kakashi, Anko, and Sakura were seen walking into the Nakamura Sushi restaurant.

"WHOA! Kakashi is actually not late! That's a miracle! Anko, you really whooped his ass, didn't you!" an inebriated Aoba ran up to them putting his arms on their shoulders.

"You damn right I did!" Anko exclaimed, giving Kakashi a sly look. He just looked down, blushing a little bit. They roared with laughter at Anko's feisty response and Kakashi's reaction.

Sakura was just amused at the whole spectacle going around her. She saw many Jounins and Chuunins in there. As she kept walking, she saw her friends sitting in their own sections.

"SAKURA-SAN! You are here! I am so glad you could make it!" Lee exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat and embraced Sakura. "Uhh, hey Lee-san."

"Neh! Fuzzy 'HUH-UH' brows get off of her! Can you tell that 'HUH-UH' she's starting to suffo'HUH-UH'cate?" They both turned around and saw Naruto. He was downing some shots of sake, while he had his arm around Hinata. He seemed like he was close to being inebriated and hiccupping a lot.

"H-H-Hi Sakura-chan," Hinata greeted her.

"Hey Hinata-chan and Naruto!" Sakura greeted them back.

They both gave her a hug. She also saw Ino, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Neji, TenTen, Shikamaru, and surprisingly Temari. She greeted everyone with hugs and smiles. It's always a great time seeing her friends, most of them being her fellow ANBU squad mates.

As a few hours passed, Kakashi announced to everyone, "Hey everyone! It's time for Genma to blow his cake!" with a slight slur in his deep voice. He was close to becoming plastered.

"HAHAHA BLOW!" an inebriated Kotetsu chimed in, "are you sure it's the cake or his—" He got hit on the head by Shizune. Genma just laughed at what his girlfriend did to him.

Everyone crowded around as Genma and Shizune walked towards his cake on the huge round table.

"Genma, you motherfucker! You're turning 34! You're an old windbag!" an inebriated Raidou roared while hitting Genma hard in the back.

"Shut up, you fag." Genma retorted with a smirk.

_Geez, adults are so immature and troublesome when they're inebriated_…Shikamaru thought as he held Temari's hand. He smiled and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She smiled and returned his gesture.

Naruto was just roaring with laughter at what the Jounins were saying, while scarfing down ramen and sushi in his mouth. Hinata was blushing madly because of his antics and sloppiness.

Sakura just observed everyone with a smile on her face, especially the "couples." She suddenly felt alone. Deep down inside of her, she still wished that Sasuke was by her side enjoying this joyous event with all of them. She let out a small sigh and tried her to best to mentally block any thoughts of Sasuke. She was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts once she felt Lee's arm go on her shoulders.

"Are you having fun, Sakura-san?" Lee politely asked her.

"Yes. Thanks for asking," she replied. Lee smiled and gave her the "nice guy" pose. She let out a sweatdrop. He slowly turned around to face Gai and gave his sensei a wink. Gai returned his gesture by smiling and giving him the "nice guy" pose as well. "Thank you, Gai-sensei!" Lee mouthed with a single tear coming from his eye.

Shizune was lighting up Genma's candles as he held her waist. Sakura noticed the way Genma was looking at Shizune; it was dreadfully adorable. The way he smiled and how his eyes twinkled when he observed his girlfriend lighting up his candles. His oral fixation, the senbon needle, would immediately go up along with his smile. From the way he looked at her, it seemed like he was thinking, "_My God, my girlfriend is so beautiful even when lighting the candles on my cake. I am lucky to have been bestowed such a gorgeous woman like her. I love her so much…" _Sakura imagined Genma's heart pounding at a fast pace and his stomach filling up with fluttering butterflies.

Sakura was contemplating too much again. She mentally let out an "awwwwwwww…" to her corny and slightly exaggerated romantic thoughts of the couple before her. She was having her "sappy" moment once again.

"It's time to sing "happy birthday" now!" Shizune triumphantly exclaimed after finishing the last candle. She turned around and was met with a soft kiss from Genma. She let out a blush and a shy smile.

Everyone gathered around the table and started to sing happy birthday. Some were off tune due to their inebriation, but they tried their best anyways. Some were giggling because some of the inebriated guys' voices would crack at certain times of the song.

"YOU GUYS CAN'T SING FOR SHIT!" Aoba loudly interrupted. The whole area fell silent and scowled at him.

"Oops! Gomenesai…" he said while his face became a crimson red.

Genma leaned down over his cake and blew out the candles as everyone around him happily clapped for him.

"So did you make a wish, windbag!" an inebriated Anko nudged Genma.

"Well, you can say that. But I need to confirm for sure if it will come true…right now."

"Huh? Right now? What the hell?" Anko said with a dumbfounded look.

"Yes…" Genma started to walk towards Shizune. Everyone started to look at his direction.

"Shizune-chan my sweetheart, I have something to confess to you…"

"Huh? What is it?" Shizune wondered with curiosity.

Genma slowly went down on his right knee and gently took Shizune's right hand. All the girls in the room gasped with anticipation and some were squealing from the romantic gesture he just committed. The guys had their mouths open and some were cheering Genma on. Shizune just froze with shock and was overcome with a scarlet blush on her face.

"Shizune, remember that time you healed me after Raidou and I fought with the Sound-nins in the forest? From that day on, I looked at you in a different way. I thank you so much for saving my life. If you weren't there, I would have passed away. As years went by, I noticed how extremely attractive you are. Your worrisome quirks that erupt when Tsunade-sama stresses you out are so adorable. I can't help but smile everytime you would come to me to talk about your troubles and how much stress you're going through," Shizune's eyes started to water up with saline droplets, "Then that glorious day finally came, I asked you out and you accepted. Next thing I knew, you became my girlfriend. I feel like I'm the luckiest guy ever to have such a beautiful woman by my side. I'm thankful for the days I wake up in the morning and I find my arm curled around your waist, taking in the scent of your silky hair, and feeling you right next to me. I'm thankful everytime I wake up in the morning, and I find you cooking breakfast with a smile that's brighter than the sun. I'm thankful for the tender kisses and hugs you provide me. I'm thankful for having your shoulder to cry on. I'm thankful for hearing your beautiful voice sing me to sleep while I'm sick. I'm thankful for the times you healed my severe wounds and little scrapes. I'm thankful for YOU! I love you, Shizune. Will you please continue to do all of those things with me…for the rest of our lives?" Genma then takes out a little velvet maroon box and opened it. There was a beautiful diamond ring sparkling in front of the dark-haired medic-nin. All the girls were weeping over the whole romantic event while the guys were thinking how horribly corny it was.

"YES, GENMA DEAR, YES!" Shizune exclaimed while tears continued flowing from her onyx orbs. She jumped up and hugged Genma tightly. "I love you, Genma Shiranui! I love you so much!" she proclaimed in the midst of her sobbing on his strongly-built left shoulder.

"AWWWWWW! Why don't YOU ever do that for me, Kaka-head!" Anko yelled and jabbed Kakashi's head.

"Anko, you know I love you!" Then he pulls her in to give her a kiss. This action mellowed down Anko's ferocious temper and she melted into the kiss.

Sakura just observed all of this happen. She felt sick of seeing all of these lovey-dovey couples around her. She suddenly didn't feel well and she told people that she was going to leave early that night. They asked her why, but she just told them that she was tired from training a lot today. Lee offered to walk her home numerous times, but his attempts went unnoticed. He was disappointed but he couldn't do anything about it. They all wished her goodnight as she walked out of the restaurant and walked towards home.

_Why can't that ever happen to ME?_ Sakura thought to herself as she felt tears start to blur her vision.

She looked up at the starry nightsky and thought to herself:

_I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE_…

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	3. Succumbed To Her Loneliness

**A/N:** I have to admit that this chapter is _extremely_ angsty and morbid. I felt like this scene was appropriate enough to enhance Sakura's tormenting depression that's eating at her. I know, this poor girl. She's literally emotionally lost...

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As Sakura reached her apartment, she went to her door and unlocked it with her keys. She walked towards the living room and plopped herself down on to the couch. She was lying in the dark, consumed in her thoughts.

_Why do I still love Sasuke? Why do I still think about him? Why can I never get him out of my mind? Why do I miss him so much? Why is he consuming my thoughts like this?_ _The pain is so unbearable! I just can't fucking take it anymore!_

Sakura started to have a nervous breakdown and clung tight onto a pillow for comfort. Her thoughts were torturing her once again.

She just couldn't take it anymore and decided to do the unthinkable: she unconsciously took out her kunai from her holster and ravenously started cutting her left wrist out of frustration.

_WHY_…

She made one slash…

_DO_…

Then another…

_YOU_…

Flashbacks of Sasuke's handsome face replayed in her mind…

_THIS_…

Red marks started to stain her porcelain skin…

_TO_…

She continued…

_ME!_

Tears flowed from her eyes as she saw the blood flow freely from her cuts and the drops landing on the floor. To her, it felt like the pain was going away along with the blood. This made her feel good for some reason. She lied down on the couch with her left arm outstretched. She stared blankly at the ceiling, wondering if she will lose a lot of blood from doing this.

She felt like she had no reason to live since her unrequited love will probably never be returned by Sasuke. She loves him so much, that it hurts. She cares for him so much that it hurts. But to her, she's willing to endure the pain just for him. As long as Sasuke is not feeling the pain, then she is satisfied.

At the same time, she hated herself for being such an emotional wreck and for letting him consume her whole well-being. To Sakura, Sasuke is her world. She lives for him and would die for him. She would protect him to no avail.

_Goddamit Sakura! Why are you so fucking weak! Why are you letting a boy, that won't love you in that kind of way, consume you like this! Heal your cuts too, baka! That shit is not worth it! You gotta become strong and forget his ass!_ Inner Sakura sprout out at the opportune moment.

Sakura was fighting with her scattered thoughts and inner demons. Her hands clutched the sides of her head, while the left side of her hair had streaks of crimson in it from the blood. She tried to fight back more of her tears, but she just let out a frustrated scream and threw her bloodied kunai, with her right hand, at the wall. The blood from the kunai seeped and created a dripping-line pattern on the wall.

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After a half an hour of debating with her tormented thoughts, Inner Sakura pushed her to the brink of realization. She kept trying to block her Inner self out, but her loud thoughts prevented her from doing so. She gave in, and started to review the events that happened earlier. She mentally analyzed the pros and cons. Sakura finally made a realization. 

_Fuck, I should heal myself! I am such a dobe! I can't believe I just did this! I should become strong and forget about him! He's not worth any of this! He's going to continue hurting me anyways, and I shouldn't put up with that crap at all! I'm worth more than that! Bah! It's not like he'll even come back to Konoha anyways! That bastard chose going to Orochimaru for power over the love I provide him. He'll never give a damn that I care for him. Fuck that! Why am I caring for a boy that doesn't have an ounce of care within him for anyone else other than himself?— _

_Sakura, you dumbass, straighten yourself out! You look so fucking pathetic crying your eyes out while blood is dripping from your wrist. You're the top ANBU medical-nin for crying out loud! Do you want to throw away that title because you lost your strength for a fucking loser like him? You worked so hard to get where you're at right now, and I'm sure gonna bitch more if you would rather throw it all away for a stupid unrequited love!_ _Stop living in dream land and wake the fuck up_! Inner Sakura interrupted her original thoughts. Sakura's eyes widened and she frowned at herself.

She immediately sat up and felt a little dizzy because of the amount of blood that dripped out from her self-inflicted wounds. She tried to compose herself and gathered as much chakra as she could with her right hand. She placed her hand gingerly over the battered flesh of the left wrist and slowly started to heal it. Sakura's tears started to dry up as she tried to heal the cuts.

After she healed her cuts, she stared at the puddle of blood on the floor her cuts caused. She looked at her left wrist and notice there was a little scar that was left from it.

_Never again, Sakura, never again!_ _My tears will now dry up from this point on, and my depression will subside. I'm not going to let him affect my life like this any longer. Sakura, you're stronger than that I know you are. Move on, or else you'll miss out on the good things in life! _Sakura scowled at the bloody puddle. She went to turn on the lights and grabbed some paper towels to clean it up. She also went to the wall, took out the kunai, and cleaned the blood off.

After she finished cleaning, she took a shower to relieve herself after the situation she just went through. It refreshed her mind a little bit and she changed into her pajamas. She walked to her bed and lied down. She looked out the window and saw the stars fading into the dark sky.

_Tomorrow, I'm starting anew. No more of this bullshit. I'm going back to my old self, before him._ She thought to herself as her eyelids drooped and she drifted off into sleep.

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	4. Kunoichi Bonding

**A/N:** This chapter is longer than the previous ones. So go on and read it...

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_Ringggggggg_.

Sakura lazily lifted her head up from her pillow and looked at her alarm clock. It was 9 in the morning. She slowly got up and sat up on the side of the bed. She looked out the window and saw how sunny it was outside. She walked towards the window and looked down at the village. She saw how busy the marketplace was as usual and little children were running around playing tag. She smiled as she observed all of this happening.

She unconsciously lifted her left arm to look at her wrist. She studied the small linear scar that was left on there. _Today, I'm starting anew_…Sakura reminded herself. She walked towards her closet to look for her training outfit and went to the restroom to take a shower.

After she finished getting ready, she went to the kitchen and quickly poured herself some milk. She drank some and let out a refreshing sigh. She prepared her fighting equipment and carefully placed them in her holster that's wrapped around her right thigh. She looked at the scar on her left wrist, and decided to put on her black gloves to cover it so people won't notice it. She walked out of her apartment and locked her door.

_I think I'll go visit Tsunade-sama first and have some social time with her. After that, I'll go to the forest and train. I need to polish off some of my jutsus anyways._ Sakura thought to herself.

As she strolled through the marketplace, she heard a familiar feminine voice call her out.

"Ms. Sakura Forehead girlllll!" a blonde young lady hollered afar from a store.

Sakura turned her head and walked towards the direction of the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

"Well hey, Ino-pig!" Sakura snorted with a smirk as she entered the store. The pungent smell of flowers aroused her senses.

"Where do you think you're heading off to, missy?" Ino asked while cutting off the thorns from long-stemmed peach roses.

"I was just about to head off to the Hokage monument to go visit Tsunade-sama," Sakura replied while looking at the beautiful flowers around her.

"Can you stay for a little bit to chit chat with me at least? It's been a while since we've had an in-depth conversation! I didn't get to talk to you at Genma-san's birthday celebration. You seemed so dazed out and down during that time. I'm hoping you're feeling better now! Even though we're not best friends like how we used to be, I'm still concerned about you," Ino said as she raised her head from her task and her azure orbs stared into Sakura's emerald orbs.

Sakura felt touched at what Ino had just proclaimed to her. Yes, even though their friendship was a bit strained, they still manage to overcome all the odds. From time to time, they would depend on each other whenever one was going through problems. But lately Sakura has been shutting out her friends from the personal hell that she endures. She feels that she shouldn't let her friends endure it because she doesn't want to see them as depressed as she is. But today was a new day for her; she wasn't going to be a depressing dipshit any longer. Her heart twinged at what Ino told her, and she smiled at her while a gleam flashed from her eyes.

"Thank you, Ino. And yes, I do have lots of time to have a conversation with you. After all, I miss it too."

Ino smiled back and ran to the stock room. "Okaasan! Is it OK if I go out for an hour to have time to spend with Sakura-chan?" Sakura heard Ino ask her mother. She heard some voices having a small conversation, but she didn't hear what they were saying.

Ino emerged from the room with a huge smile on her face, while her mother trailed behind her.

"Hello Mrs. Yamanaka," Sakura politely greeted and bowed. The mother returned the gesture.

"Ah Sakura-chan! It has been a while since I've seen you, dear. I'm letting my daughter spend time with you because I know both of you haven't seen nor talk to each other for a long while. I want you 2 to spend some time together. While doing so, I'll take over the store." She said as she smiled and hugged Sakura.

"Aww, that is very nice of you, Mrs. Yamanaka-san! We will definitely have fun catching up. Arigato!" Sakura happily replied.

"OK Okaasan! Arigato! See you in a bit!" Ino waved off as she grabbed Sakura's left wrist and ran out the store. Sakura winced at Ino's sudden jerk of her wrist. She didn't know her wrist would be a little sore from the night before.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?" Ino noticed the wincing Sakura did.

"No, nothing at all." _Thank God I'm wearing these black gloves_…

They were strolling around the village side by side. They walked towards a nearby park.

Ino broke the silence and shook Sakura's arm, "We have a LOT to catch up on, girl! How have you been? Anything new with you?" Both walked towards the grass and decided to sit under a cherry blossom tree.

Sakura formed a smile on her face and replied, "Well, I guess things have changed, and I made a lot of realizations now. I'm going to become stronger from now on."

Ino was shocked at Sakura's revelation. Her eyes widened and asked, "Oh really? Please elaborate!" She positioned herself into an Indian-sitting position.

Sakura brought her knees toward her body and rested her arms over them. "Recently I've realized that my condescending attitude is not getting me anywhere. I'm just deteriorating inside. I also don't want any of you to be concerned for me anymore. I'm finally tired of getting myself depressed, especially over Sasuke-kun. I'm starting anew, Ino."

"Atta girl! You're finally getting it! It's not worth it being so depressed all time, especially over someone who has a heart of stone. May I ask how you finally came to this realization?"

Sakura didn't want to tell Ino about her wrist, so she decided to tell her only parts of the truth. "I just thought things over and over again, until I made my stubborn ass realize it." She let out a small chuckle.

"Well, I'm proud of you! You finally had the emotional strength to overcome your feelings! I'm glad you're feeling better now!" Ino exclaimed as she hugged Sakura tightly.

"Should I still try to hook you up with any other boys here in Konoha?" she said sarcastically with a laugh.

"Ah no thanks!" Sakura laughed and shook her head. _Wow, I do miss having these kind of conversations with Ino! It sure has been a while! _A gust of wind blew and some cherry blossom leaves gently fell on to the laughing girls.

Ino decided to change the subject. "So Sakura, are you comfortable being in the ANBU squad so far?"

"Yes I am. At times it can be quite frightful because some of the assassination missions can be deadly and suicidal, but I still muster the courage to do my duty. Fortunately, I come of out them alive with only a few injuries."

"Wow, that sounds depth-defying!"

"Yeah, you can say that," Sakura replied, "Oh, and how is your teaching job? How is it like handling the girls in the academy?"

"Well, they are tolerable. Sometimes girls can be difficult, but more restrained than the boys. You know how girls' maturity levels are higher than boys. I'm thankful that I mainly handle the girls. Shikamaru has to handle both boys and girls in the academy classroom haha. As for me, I get to bring the girls out to the fields and teach them how to do creative flower constructing like when we were. We make crowns, bracelets, necklaces, etc. Suzume-sensei gave me helpful tips on how to teach the girls and what they can construct with the flowers. I'm more fortunate because I know the meaning of each flower since I work at the flower shop. It's so adorable to see the girls' eyes light up everytime I tell them the meaning of the flowers they pick from the ground."

"Awww, that is wonderful, Ino! I'm happy for you!" Sakura beamed.

"As for me, being a medical-nin in the ANBU squad is quite difficult but honorable at the same time. I feel like I'm the ultimate protector of the squad because I get to heal my comrades' fatal wounds. I'm glad I got the tutelage of Tsunade-sama to become a medical-nin because I won't be able to see my comrades die from fatal wounds so easily in front of me. I'm not helpless anymore, like how I used to be in the past. I now have a purpose, and it's to heal my injured teammates while kicking some evil ass. I care way too much for my comrades, and I'm not going to let them get hurt in front of my eyes ever again. I remember one time when Naruto got fatally wounded from a _doton no jutsu_ an enemy used on him. I quickly came to his side and healed the large gash on his left torso. If I didn't have the power to heal him, he would have bled to death in front of my eyes. I can't let a dear friend of mine die. After I healed him, I chased after the enemy and beat the living hell out of him until he turned into a bloody pulp."

"Wow Sakura! You are much stronger compared to before! I am seriously proud of your improvements during the past 5 years. You've grown up so much. Sakura! You've finally bloomed into a beautiful flower!" Ino beamed.

"Aww arigato, Ino. You're beautiful too! I'm also proud of you for being a sensei at the academy!" Sakura happily replied. They continue to conversate.

* * *

"Well Sakura, it's been great catching up with you, but I got to get back to the flower shop. It's been well over an hour already, and my okaasan will have a fit if I arrive in late. So, I'll see you around okay? Take care of yourself!" Ino said as she stood up and dusted herself. Sakura proceeded to do the same. 

"Okay then. Have fun at work, while I go visit Tsunade-sama," replied Sakura.

Ino hugged Sakura and walked away towards the flower shop, as she waved good-bye. Sakura decided to transport herself to the Godaime's office. A poof of clouds formed as sakura leaves surrounded it, as Sakura disappeared into thin air.

* * *

_Knock, knock._

"Come in," the busty blonde woman said as she looked up from her pile of paperwork and scrolls on her desk.

Sakura gingerly turned the knob to open the door.

"Ahh hello Sakura my dear! What brings you here?" Tsunade exclaimed.

"Hello Tsunade-sama. I just came to visit and conversate with you."

"Oh how pleasant of you! That would be fine since I need a break from this pile of paperwork!"

Sakura observed the high stacks of paperwork and chuckled to herself. Ever since she became Tsunade's subordinate, she has seen the labor this woman goes through or lack there of. Sometimes she walks in on her resting her head on the desk while snoozing her stress away. There were times when Sakura had to wake up her sensei to continue doing her work. In some cases, Sakura would be obligated to help her.

"If you're wondering Sakura, there won't be any crucial ANBU missions this whole week. So you can rest in the meantime."

"Oh yes, I was informed by Anko-san about that."

"Haha I'm actually surprised that woman was reliable about information like that. Anko reminds me of an older female version of Naruto! She's so impulsive, obnoxious, and loud. I'm glad that Kakashi is with her. His laid-back attitude should rub off on her," Tsunade snorted.

"Haha yeah. They look great together. Kaka-sensei treats her well, and vice-versa, even though they joke around a lot."

"Ah yes, those two are meant to be together, even though they are total opposites."

"Well, you know what they say Tsunade-sama, opposites attract!"

"You are correct on that one, my dear. By the way, how have you been? I haven't seen much of you around lately. I couldn't attend Genma's birthday bash because I had work and other affairs to tend to, but I heard from Shizune that he proposed to her there! I thought that was the sweetest thing! I can't believe Genma actually had an ounce of romance in his heart! Shizune looked so blissful when she told me the news. I'm really happy for her!"

"Yes! I was there myself. It was such a romantic sight! The girls and I couldn't stop squealing at Genma-san's sentiments! I'm very happy for those two! A king found his queen!"

"Yup—," Tsunade wanted to ask Sakura about the Uchicha, but in the back of her mind she had a feeling that she shouldn't bring him up at all in this conversation. Her intuition told her that Sakura might become emotional if she did so. She knows how emotional her subordinate gets and she doesn't want that to happen. So she decided to change the subject.

"So Sakura, have you been practicing your medical jutsus lately? And the summoning jutsu that I recently taught you?"

"Yes Tsunade-sama, but I need to polish them a little bit, especially my summoning jutsu. Whenever I do it, the only result I get is a baby slug."

"Looks like you really need to practice it then. It's not really a required ANBU jutsu, but it will become useful someday. Even though you may think 'Oh, it's just a measly slug. What the hell can it do?', there's more to the slug than just its appearance. It's more powerful than you think."

"Oh I know Tsunade-sama. That's why I'm trying my best to polish my summoning jutus, while I polish my other jutsus that I mainly utilize in the ANBU squad."

"Sakura, I honestly have to say that I'm proud of the position you're at right now: you're the top-ranked medic-nin in the ANBU squad and you are almost as powerful as me. One day, you may even surpass Shizune and I. Now that is a feat!" Tsunade proclaimed as she beamed a smile at the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Thank you very much, Tsunade-sama. But I should be thanking you because you trained me and placed me where I am today!" Sakura replied as she smiled back at her. They continued on with their conversation.

* * *

"Well Sakura, I better get back to work now before Shizune frantically runs into my office with more paperwork and pesters me to finish up whatever I have here. Where are you heading off to right now?" 

"I'm going to train in the forest. Like you said, to polish my jutsus."

"OK then, that's good. I'll see you soon, and good luck! Once you see Katsuya form from the summon jutsu, tell her I said hello," Tsunade chuckled.

"Hehe OK then, Tsunade-sama. Oh yeah, tell Shizune-san I said hello!" Sakura gave her sensei (more like a mother-figure) a hug and proceeded to walk out the office. Tsunade waved her off.

Sakura closed the door behind her._ I'm surprised she didn't ask about _him_. Hmm, oh well. I guess her intuition figured she shouldn't or something. That's good. Now off to training._

_Yeah! Get your lazy ass to train already! _Inner Sakura butted in.

_Bah! Will you shut up! I'm not a lazy ass!_ Her thoughts were fighting in her mind again.

A cloud swirled around her, and she was gone with a _POOF!_

_

* * *

_


	5. Vigorous Training Session

**A/N:** Woohoo! Sakura can kick major ass!

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**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**o**x** _  
_

_Ahh yes, the good ol' training grounds!_ Sakura thought to herself as she arrived at the forest.

She pulled out the necessary weapons to practice with from her pouch. She positioned herself in a clearing that was surrounded by trees. She decided to make scratches on each of the barks so she can use them as targets. After that, she stood in the middle and leapt in the air. She tucked shurikens in her right hand and kunais in her left. As she leapt in the air, she decided to rotate her body, forming somersaults in the air. She looked like she was a professional competitor in a diving competition. As she did this, she simultaneously threw each weapon at its targets. As she gracefully landed on the ground on her two feet, she saw that she hit all of her intended targets, except for one. _Damn it! I missed one target again! I have to perfect this! Bah! I'll do this one later. _

Sakura continued on with her training. She positioned herself on the ground and did many break-dancing style taijutsu moves. She positioned her hands on the ground and made her legs go straight up so she can form a hand stand. She proceeded to twirl her legs in the air like a windmill and practiced against a tree bark for target taijutsu practice. Even though it wasn't soft to cushion the force, she didn't care. As long as she had "target" to practice with, then it was fine with her. She kept doing this until she noticed some splinters go into her toes and through her black gloves in the knuckle area, some making them bleed. _Argh! More splinters to pull out!_ _Maybe next time I should really buy one of those dummy cushions…_

She proceeded to bring her legs down and rest them on the ground. She propped herself up and dusted off dirt and such.

She went to another clearing in the forest, where there were hardly any trees, and proceeded to gather up chakra in her gloved right hand. Even though her gloves had some splinters poking through it and were hurting her knuckles, she couldn't care less. Sakura mainly concentrated on practicing to become physically stronger, even if it meant pushing herself over the limit. She wanted to make up for "lost time" back when she was a useless and weak 12-year-old genin, who had to frequently be defended by Naruto and _him_. She didn't want them to do that anymore, and she promised herself that it will be her that will protect the both, or actually just Naruto.

With that thought in mind, a certain midnight-haired shinobi crossed her mind, but she cringed to herself and proceeded to launch her right arm into the hard earth below her. The earth started to separate below her, with cracks forming. She jumped away so she wouldn't get affected. She observed how the earth around her started to crack and separate like a domino effect. Sweat drops started to form on her wide forehead and she panted very hard. _I clearly told myself that I wouldn't think of that particular person…_

She observed the damage that she created on to the surroundings around her. It looked like an earthquake rocked Konoha and destroyed everything in its path. _Sorry Mother Nature, I just had to destroy your beautiful soil once again. At least I'm improving…_

_Ah! I really need to take a little break! Hmm, perhaps I'll splash some water on my face. That will cool me down_. Sakura walked towards a beautiful waterfall nearby. It was beautiful and was sparkly and crystal clear. She sat herself near the edge by the clear river, next to the waterfall. She scooped her hands into the water and splashed some water on to her porcelain face. She whipped her head back with refreshment, as her pastel pink tresses fluttered in the air. She opened up her eyelids and exposed her jaded orbs. She leaned over the water and proceeded to look at her reflection in the water.

_I've grown up since graduating from the academy. Life has been full of twist and turns. I wonder how the following years will be like for me. Will I even have a successful future ahead for me? Or will I be a miserable and solitary failure? I hope not! I've come this far in my life, and I'm not going to let myself get depressed and hurt like before. I want true happiness, dammit! Actually, I want true bliss! I actually want to experience that, especially true love! When the hell will that ever happen to me? Will it even happen to me? Argh whatever. I shouldn't be searching for love; I should let it search for me. Plus, I should become emotionally stronger. No more of that crap! Remember Sakura! Who knows, if I don't act like a useless, emotional weakling, then something might unexpectedly happen to me and it will bring me joy. Gah! I think way too much for my own good…_Sakura continued to look at her reflection. She swore she just saw a brief appearance of her 12-year-old self, with glazed sea foam eyes and tears streaming down her cheeks. She vigorously shook her head and looked at the water again, only to see her current appearance in the reflection. _I'm 17-years-old, dammit! Not that pathetic 12-year-old I used to be!_

She stood up and positioned herself on the grass_. Now it's time to practice my summoning technique. _She took off her gloves and bit her right thumb to let the blood flow out. She made some quick hand seals, distributed the necessary amount of chakra, and shouted out "Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" A cloud of smoke formed on the ground and as it dissipated, a slug of about 3-foot high in size appeared. It was white with baby blue spots speckled about on its body. It glanced up at Sakura with its eyeless (or maybe barely visible eyes) at her. Sakura smiled to herself and petted the slug. _Hey! At least it's bigger than before!_ _It's not Katsuya, but it looks like a miniature version of her! _

Sakura kept practicing until she became exhausted. At the end, she managed to summon a slug as tall as her. She was improving indeed. _Yes! I sooo kick major ass_! Inner Sakura exclaimed with her fist in the air.

_Fuck, I am exhausted! Maybe I should grab a bite to eat at Ichiraku. I'll probably bump into Naruto there anyways_. She grinned to herself and she feebly started walking out of the forest to go to the little ramen shop.

A raven started to soar in the sky above the forest trees. Sakura looked up at it blankly and thought nothing of it. She continued to walk on.

* * *


	6. The Dreaded Offer!

**A/N:** Hmm, a particular character may seem OOC in this (depending on your perspective). You'll probably know who I'm talking about once you read this chapter.

Oh yes, two new characters are presented in this chapter as well!

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**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**

Sakura finally made it to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. She wasn't surprised once she saw the bubbly blonde young man scarfing down a bowl of Beef Ramen. It looked like he was on his fourth bowl. Hinata was sitting next to him, gingerly sipping soup from her Miso Ramen.

"—nata honey! That's what happened on my last ANBU mission! It was hectic like hell, dat-te-bayo!" Sakura heard Naruto explain to Hinata, who was looking at her boyfriend with a smile on her face. "I-I'm glad you're OK from it, N-Naruto dear." Hinata happily replied. "Oh you should thank Sak--," Naruto got cut off when he heard from behind his back, "…me?" The couple hastily turned around and saw Sakura, who was sweaty and battered. She looked really tired.

"Sakura-chan! I didn't even feel your chakra approaching! I guess I was too busy telling Hinata what happened on our last ANBU mission!" Naruto exclaimed.

"T-Thank you very much, Sakura-chan, for healing N-Naruto-kun's wounds that he got from the mission! H-Here, sit down with us and have some r-ramen! Y-You look soo exhausted!" Hinata politely offered as she gestured Sakura to sit on the stool next to her. Sakura smiled at her and sat down next to her. Sakura has been amazed at how much this once shy girl's confidence and social skills has gone up ever since they were young. She also became physically beautiful, just like Sakura herself. She remembers how she used to be extremely shy and stutter on every word she said. Now her stuttering cut down to a minimum and she started to talk more, with a tone that is now audible. Sakura suspected Naruto for boosting the confidence of his girlfriend. She was proud of the both of them.

"Aww Hinata-chan. It's my pleasure. After all, it's my duty to do so and he's my best friend," Sakura replied as she glanced at Naruto. He displayed his foxy grin to her in acknowledgement.

"Sakura-chan! Hinata-chan is right, you look dead tired! Let me guess, you've been vigorously training again huh, dattebayo?" Naruto had a look of concern on his face.

"Yup I was. I've been practicing and polishing my jutsus, especially the summoning one," Sakura replied while rubbing her soar knuckles.

"Oh! How is that coming along?" Naruto was always the type to simultaneously ask Sakura questions. He truly cared for her, but in a best friend type of way. He once had feelings for his roseatte-haired ex-teammate, but once he realized she was extremely head-over-heels for Sasuke, he ended his quest to capture her heart. Instead, he started to take a liking for Hinata, after he spent lots of time with the Jounin sensei. He would frequently drop by at the academy after his mission to flirt with the shy girl after she taught her classes, and he found himself falling head-over-heels for her. Hinata has always had feelings for Naruto ever since they were young, and finally her dream came true: her and Naruto became an official couple. Sakura could see why: Naruto has grown up and his physical appearance changed drastically. He became handsome and grew a head taller than her, but her heart still belonged to the Uchicha. Plus, she only viewed Naruto in a platonic way. He hasn't changed his loud and impulsive behavior and his addiction for ramen though. Oh well, that's what makes Naruto…Naruto.

"…Sakura-chan?" Naruto snapped Sakura out of her thoughts.

"Oh gomenesai! It's great so far! I actually summoned a slug that's as tall as me just earlier!"

"That's great to hear, Sakura-chan! Gamabunta and Katsuya should battle when we practice someday!" Sakura laughed at Naruto's request, "anyway, you need to eat! Your meal is on the house!"

"Wow Naruto! You're actually paying! Am I unaware of an apocalypse approaching or something?" Sakura sarcastically retorted.

"Psshhh of course! I've been getting sweet pay lately from the missions! Plus, this is to congratulate you for the improvement on your summoning technique, dattebayo!" Naruto happily replied. Hinata smiled at her boyfriend for his kind action. "That's very s-sweet of you, Naruto dear!"

Naruto gave a light kiss on Hinata's lips, which made her cheeks blush a furious crimson red. He proceeded to ask for a menu from Ayame, the ramen shop owner's daughter, and gave it to Sakura. After much debating, Sakura chose to get a Chicken Ramen. She got her order within 5 minutes, and started to eat. She hungrily gulped down the noodles.

"Wow Sakura-chan, and I thought I was the only one that could scarf down ramen! I guess I have a competitor now, neh?" Naruto chuckled. Hinata elbowed him on his ribs. "OW! Honey, I was only kidding, dattebayo!"

Sakura ignored Naruto's mocking and continued to eat her meal. It was apparent that she had hardly anything to eat in the past couple of days, and that she trained her guts out earlier.

* * *

"Thanks for the meal, Naruto. I owe you!" Sakura said to Naruto, as she gave him a beaming smile 

"No problemo, Sakura-chan! You don't have to owe me anything. You're a good pal to me anyways," Naruto replied with his foxy grin. Hinata was in the process of finishing her green tea ice cream that Naruto bought for her after she ate her ramen. Naruto watched with a soft expression at the way his girlfriend took little scoops from the ball of ice cream and eating it carefully. She looked really adorable doing this.

Sakura turned around, and saw the sky turned dark and a full moon came to view. "Well folks, I must depart now. It's dark outside and I'm tired. I'm going to walk home now. See you two love-birds later!" she stood from her stool and hugged both of them. She walked away and they waved her good-bye.

As she started to walk towards her apartment, she suddenly started a series of sneezes. _Why am I_ 'ACHOO' _sneezing so much! It wasn't even cold when I was training earlier. In fact, it was hot as hell!_ 'ACHOO' _That can't make me sick at all! So what explains _'ACHOO'_ these sneezes! Wait, _'ACHOO' _is someone thinking about me! I wonder if that person is in trouble or in dire need of my attention? But what for? _'ACHOO' _OK, who are you?_ 'ACHOO'_ And why are you thinking of me? Geez, you must be thinking about me _'ACHOO' _a lot if I'm_ 'ACHOO' _sneezing THIS much! STOP IT!_ 'ACHOO'

_THIS SNEEZING FIT IS FUCKING ANNOYING!_ Inner Sakura whined in anger.

To her amazement, the sneezing stopped after her mental demand. She didn't know if she should feel flattered, annoyed, dumbfounded, angry, or happy after what had just happened to her. It was weird because she had a sense that someone was thinking about her, but she doesn't know who.

"Hey! Sakura-chan, are you OK!" Sakura cocked her head to the right to see a familiar face on the street. It was one of her ANBU squad mate.

"Hey Kiba! Yeah I'm OK. Thanks for asking," she replied, as Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, walked towards her.

"I'm out here taking a stroll with Akamaru and, geez, we heard you sneezing uncontrollably from across the street. I was wondering if you were going to suffer from a severe case of pneumonia or something. That would be rare since it's summer time. I was even close to running towards you and bringing you to the hospital!" Kiba had a look of concern for his fellow squad mate. Akamaru barked in agreement to his owner's statement.

"Haha, I don't know what came over me just now but the sneezing stopped, thankfully. I was also going to ask you why you're out here at such a late time."

"I should be asking YOU that question. You're a lady, after all, and ladies shouldn't walk alone at nighttime. Akamaru and I will walk you towards your destination."

"Oh no, it's fine, Kiba-san. You and Akamaru are heading towards a different direction, right?"

"Meh, we're not heading anywhere in particular. We're just aimlessly strolling as usual to kill our boredom. We can keep you company. Plus, it's to reward you for all the healing you've done for me on the missions and for Akamaru." Kiba warmly said to Sakura.

"Hmm were _YOU_ the reason why I had that sneezing fit earlier? Because I KNOW someone was thinking of me at that very moment," Sakura curiously asked, as she squinted suspiciously at him.

"Me? No. Sure you're a buddy of mine because of ANBU, but no offense Sakura-chan, I don't see you in _THAT_ kind of way. I have my mind set on this one beautiful lady I encountered at the Hidden Mist Village during one of our missions…" Kiba replied with a huge grin.

"Haha OK, good. I also see you as a friend too, Kiba-san. I also know what mission you're talking about. That was a few months back. Good luck with that lady!" Sakura smiled at her squad mate.

Kiba rubbed the back of his head as he started to blush. "Haha thanks a lot, Sakura-chan." Akamaru started to bark at his owner's embarrassment, as if he was laughing at him. "Haha shut up Akamaru!" They continued their conversation as they walked towards Sakura's apartment.

* * *

"Thanks for walking me to my apartment, Kiba-san," Sakura politely thanked and hugged him. She petted Akamaru's head. 

"Oh yeah, Sakura-chan! I forgot to add one more thing to how I can become closer to Nozomi-chan…" Kiba started to rub the back of his head again, with a nervous look on his face.

"What is it?"

"Well…umm…she told me she has this cousin who is single and is an eligible bachelor…" Kiba started.

"Don't tell me…" Sakura had a sense of dread in her voice.

"…Yeah. Even though she is an only child, he is like an older protective brother to her. If any guy lays a hand on his cousin, he would decapitate their head with his katana. Since I recently discovered that she is fond of me, she asked me if I had any friends that are girls who are willing to date him…"

"KIBA! I—" Sakura's voice started to raise, and she cut off the suffix from his name.

"Sakura-chan! Don't worry! From what she told me, he's a handsome guy who is a year older than us. He's very intelligent, responsible, and a skilled shinobi. He's currently of Jounin rank in the Hidden Mist. He and Nozomi-chan also come from a wealthy and powerful family…" Kiba added so he can persuade Sakura into agreeing to his offer, even though he was slightly trembling. Akamaru barked to what his owner said.

Sakura didn't know what to think. This whole day has been exhausting, and this just added to it. Why couldn't he ask another girl? Why did it have to be her? She wanted Kiba to hook up with Nozomi-chan, but in order to do so, she has to date the cousin. Why did it have to become such a predicament? Sakura just stood there, deep in thought, with a slight cringe in her face.

"…Please Sakura-chan! It would mean soo much to me if you did this for me! I know Nozomi-chan would be thankful if you did this too! Please, please, please!" Kiba feebly begged his squad mate. Akamaru feebly wailed aside his owner. Sakura's face melted into pity and confusion mixed together.

_What's the harm in doing this for her ANBU squad mate? It's not like she will die or anything. _She let out a huge sigh.

"Fine, I'll take your offer. Remember, I'm only doing this for YOUR sake, OK!" Kiba jumped up in joy and hugged Sakura so hard, that she started to suffocate. Akamaru barked with excitement as well.

"O-K, Kiba-san, you c-can s-stop hugging m-me now! I c-can't breathe!" Kiba released his tight embrace from Sakura. He beamed his fanged teeth at her.

"Thank you sooo much, Sakura-chan! Who knows, maybe something might actually develop between you two! You can finally forget about that Uchi—," he was cut off with a jab on the head by Sakura's fist.

"By the way, what is this guy's name?" Sakura asked. Kiba was rubbing the huge bump on his head.

"Oh yeah, his name is Yasashiku-san, from what I remember Nozomi-chan told me. Hey, I'll try my best to convince and bring those two to a future social event! I'll tell you if both of them will come for sure, and you can meet-up with them! It will be like a double-date!" Kiba beamed.

"Sure…" Sakura was secretly actually hoping that Kiba won't inform her about their arrival in Konoha.

"OK, I really need to rest now. So I'll see you around, Kiba-san. Thank you for escorting me once again!" Sakura fumbled for her keys and opened her apartment door.

"You're welcome, Sakura-chan, and thank YOU!" He and Akamaru ran as they waved her off.

Once she walked in and closed the door behind her, she positioned her back against her door and slowly slid her body down. "As Shikamaru-san would say, how troublesome…" Sakura sullenly told herself. _What have I gotten myself into! I hate blind dates!_

She lazily picked herself off the ground and shuffled towards her bedroom. She hastily grabbed her pajamas from the closet and went to the restroom to take a refreshing shower. She plucked out the splinters from her toes and knuckles.

After getting changed into her pajamas, she dragged her weary feet to the bed and plopped herself on to her bed. She turned off the light and immediately knocked out once she felt her cozy pillows and comforter under her body.

Once again, a sneeze escaped from her. Sakura wailed weakly and continued to sleep.

* * *


	7. Still Alone: A Tribute To Her

**A/N: **Thank you for some of the comments! I greatly appreciate them!

**LittleWolfBlossom: **Thanks for the comment, and yes, I'll keep updating this fic as much as I can. It's not even _close_ to finishing mwahahaha...

**AkatsukiBlaze:** Thanks a lot! I know you're anticipating for the SasuxSaku moment, and believe me, it will come soon...so hang tight!

Anyway, this chapter is going to have a miniature songfic feature in it. I hope you enjoy it!

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A few days passed by, and it was now a Friday. Sakura was in the kitchen, busying herself by cooking udon. It was noontime, and she had nothing to do. She decided to just stay in her apartment and relax. The last few days have been hectic for her. First encountering many of her friends, Kiba offering that "blind date" deal, vigorously training at the forest, Lee attempting to flirt with her once again, going on a much needed shopping spree with Ino, playing Shougi with Shikamaru, spending time at the Hyuuga compound to have girl talk with Hinata and Ten-Ten, Shizune asking her what type of wedding kimono she should buy for her and Genma's wedding, eating sushi with Kakashi and Anko, and so many more. Sakura felt like she needed a break from her so-called "life."

She hummed a beautiful tune as she was cooking her udon in the pot, while glancing at the television in the living room. Once she finished cooking, she turned off the stove and got a bowl to put some udon soup in. She walked towards the dining table in the living room and proceeded to eat her lunch. She had a sudden urge to go to the restroom and walked towards the one in the hall.

As she walked in and sat herself on the toilet to relieve herself, she glanced at the Gloomy Bear calendar in front of her on the wall. _Hmm, what's the date today_? As she checked, her jaded orbs widened and a gasp escaped from her lips. She nearly fell off the toilet seat. _Oh my god, today is July 23rd: HIS birthday…_

After she finished urinating, she hastily cleaned herself and washed her hands. _No, I can't think about him again! Sakura, you promised yourself you wouldn't!_

She hastily walked out of the restroom and walked back to the dining table to continue eating. As she kept eating, she glanced at the television. What she saw nearly made her drop her chopsticks into the soup.

Japanese pop singer, Ayumi Hamasaki, was on the television and her music video for "Still Alone" (English translation) was playing. Sakura knew very well what that song is, for she liked it very much, especially the fact that it relates to her current emotional predicament. _Geez, what an opportune moment for this song to play right now, after reading that damn calendar!_

She glued her eyes to the television and halted her eating. She heard the lyrics singing to her ears.

(English translation)

_Where are you walking,  
what are you staring at now?  
Are you still chasing that dream  
you once told me about?_

A soft expression glazed on her face, as she saw an emotional Ayumi confronting her lover in the music video. The first verse quickly struck a chord in Sakura's heart…

_I loved your face that  
seemed to tell the future._

Sakura's lips started to turn downward…

_For you to protect that dream,  
I couldn't be with you._

Her vision started to become blurry as she felt liquid form in her eyes. She could barely see the music video anymore. All she heard were the haunting lyrics that Ayumi sang out.

_When you stood here  
and watched the scenery,  
how much anxiety and confusion  
did you battle with?_

Sakura eyes couldn't contain the liquid any longer. She blinked a couple times and tears started to descend her soft cheeks.

_I've learned a lot  
from being alone._

Her vision became clear again after releasing some of her tears. She could see Ayumi having a crying fit on the ground and the sound of agony in her voice while singing the eerie words from her heart. Sakura felt more warm liquid form in her emerald orbs, as that simple verse struck her even harder.

_As long as you didn't let go of my hand,  
I felt like I could do anything._

More tears descended upon her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her right hand. Her mind started to become hazy, as blurriness overcame her vision because of the tears filling up in her beautiful round eyes.

_When we walked along the same path  
I believed without a single doubt._

She wiped out more tears from her eyes and looked at the music video again. She continued to see a suffering Ayumi all by herself, wondering why her lover left her with a broken heart that would take until the end of time to mend. Sakura's warm tears flowed out like a waterfall and she imagined herself being in Ayumi's position. She personally thought this song and music video was a mini biography about her own life!

_But even so, why...?_

_Yeah, Sasuke-kun, why?_ _Why do you do this to me? You leave me and break my heart into a million pieces? Why?_ Sakura's tears never ceased falling from her eyes.

She decided that it was too much to take and grabbed the remote to turn off the television. Sakura ran to the kitchen and grabbed some napkins. She rubbed away the tears that stained her porcelain face. She looked at the mirror and saw that her eyes were swollen and red. _I need to stop getting so damn emotional! I hate being so sensitive! I told myself I would become emotionally stronger! What the hell is wrong with me!_

_Yeah! What the hell is wrong with you, you damn cry baby! Stop crying!_ Inner Sakura once again butted in.

Sakura cringed at herself and proceeded to walk back to the dining table to continue eating her udon. _I can't believe I let a measly song sink into my heart like that_. '_You' still affect me even on your birthday, and you're not even here! _She dunked her chopsticks into the soup and scooped up the noodles to eat.

_Maybe that blind date with Yasashiku-san wouldn't be so bad after all. I probably need it anyways. I'm such a wreck right now! Like what Kiba-san said, maybe something will happen between us._ Sakura formed a small smile as she was eating.

As she finished eating and washed the dishes, another sneeze escaped from her. _Fuck! Not again! I think I should soothe myself by drinking sake…_

She walked towards one of the cupboards and opened it. She sifted through various products until she found what she was looking for at the very back of the cupboard. She slowly cleared the path to take out the hidden sake bottle. _I guess Kaka-sensei's gift would come in handy in situations like this… _

She twisted the bottle cap open and poured a shot for herself in a little saucer. She took the saucer and quickly downed her first shot. She squinted and shook her head, since it has been months since she last consumed alcohol. Even though she was still considered young to consume alcohol, that didn't stop her from drinking with her colleagues at parties and other social functions. She continued to pour more and more sake into the saucer, until she drank about 6 shots. Since she's a light-weight, Sakura started to feel the effects of the alcohol.

She stumbled towards her couch in the living room and curled herself on it. She grabbed a pillow and clutched it close to her chest. She rested her head on top of the pillow and started to drift into a drunken oblivion. Her emerald orbs started to glaze over and a stoic expression started to appear on her face.

"Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered through her drunken demeanor. She passed out shortly there after.

* * *

About 40 minutes later, she immediately woke up and felt her lunch shoot up to her throat. She bolted to the restroom to vomit out the contents. 

"I…feel…like…utter…SHIT…" Sakura wailed as she sprawled her upper body on top of the toilet seat. She felt more nauseated and threw up into the toilet once again.

_Riiinnnggggggg._

She heard her telephone ring. Still in her drunken haze, she was too woozy to get up and pick up the phone call.

_Riiinnnggggggg._

_Dammit! Leave me alone! I'm fuckin' drunk right now…_

_Riiinnnggggggg._

_Bah! I'll just let them leave a voice message!_

_Riiinnnggggggg._

"Hello! You have reached Sakura Haruno's phone. Sorry I'm not home at the moment, so please leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Ja ne!" Sakura heard her voice message play.

_BEEP._

"Sakura, this is the Godaime! I'm sorry to cut your vacation short, but I have an urgent ANBU mission that I must assign to you and your squad. Please come to my office ASAP once you get this. I hope you're doing well right now! Ja ne, dear!"

_BEEP._

_Oh God, are you serious? _Sakura and proceeded to stand up and washed her face in the sink. She was wobbling a little bit, but she managed to stumble to the living room. She decided that she still wasn't in good condition to attend the Godaime's office, so she decided to get a glass a water to calm herself down.

Shortly there after, she passed out once again on the couch.

* * *

**Disclaimer: ** "Still Alone" is a copyrighted song by Japanese singer, Ayumi Hamasaki. She is an actual singer in the real universe, if any of you don't know. I had a suggestion from one of the readers that I should disclaim her song, and I thought that was a wise idea. So _voila!_

* * *


	8. Assigning The New Mission

**A/N:** I know many of you are anxious for the SasuxSaku moment to come. Just hold on tight because it will come soon, or will it? 'evil chuckling'

Thank you all for your comments! Your remarks are inspiring me to keep on writing this piece!

* * *

**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**

Hours after Sakura battled with her drunkenness, she sobered herself up and decided to get ready to go to the Godaime's office.

_Wow. I wonder what this urgent ANBU mission will be? Tsunade-sama's voice sounded quite concerned when she left that voice message for me. I wonder if Naruto, Neji-san, Kiba-san, Shino-san, and Ten-Ten-chan got this message as well…_

After she finished putting on her regular training gear, she departed to the Godaime's office.

* * *

"Neh. I wonder what mission Granny Tsunade will assign to us this time? I was actually enjoying my vacation with Hinata-chan!" Naruto had his arm behind his head and a look of annoyance on his face. 

"You better be taking good care of my cousin, Uzumaki. You know what harm I can do to you if anything negative happens to her," Neji threatened as he scowled his silvery, pupiless-eyes at his azure orbs.

"Oh Neji-kun! Stop being so over-protective with Hinata-chan! You know she's capable of taking care of herself, and Naruto-kun pampers her," Neji's chestnut-haired girlfriend retorted to his threat. She was fixing the buns in her hair.

"Sorry Ten-Ten dear, but I can't help being protective of my cousin." He gave her a soft kiss on her lips. She blushed at the gesture and returned the favor.

Naruto, Ten-Ten, and Neji were standing in front of Godaime's office door, waiting for their colleagues to come so they can all go into her office together. It was approximately 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

"Yes, like what Ten-Ten-chan said, no need to worry, captain!" Naruto did a mock salute to his ANBU squad captain, "I treat Hinata-chan like she's a princess, dattebayo!"

The Byuukugan-user gave a small smile in acknowledgement to what he said. Ten-Ten gave Neji the "see-I-told-you-so" look.

"Uzumaki, you are one interesting lieutenant," Neji smirked at him.

"Ohayo!" Sakura greeted them with her cheery voice.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Naruto and Ten-Ten greeted her in unison.

"Am I late?"

"Not really. Ten-Ten chan, Uzumaki, and I have been waiting here for about half an hour now. So far you're the only one that showed up," Neji replied, "so are you ready for another grueling mission, Haruno?"

"I guess, Neji-san. We all have to get used to them anyways," Sakura replied.

Shortly there after, Kiba and Shino arrived together.

"Hey everyone! Yahoo! We have another mission!" Kiba exclaimed. Shino just re-adjusted his sunglasses to greet them.

"Hey you guys! OK, now it's time to walk into Granny Tsunade's office now!" Naruto proclaimed as he opened the door.

* * *

"Ah, hello everyone!" Tsunade warmly greeted them, "I see that many of you got my phone call or voice message. Like I said, I have an urgent ANBU mission for your squad—" 

"What will it be, Granny Tsunade?" Naruto interrupted with an annoyed tone.

"Haha, you brat. I'm surprised you're not as hyped up for a mission like you used to be in the past. I guess Hinata-chan put you in your place, neh?" everyone in the room started to chuckle. Naruto slightly blushed.

"Anyway, Sakura and Naruto, remember how Uchiha Itachi escaped the battle you had with the Akatsuki?"

Both of them slowly nodded their heads.

"Apparently, he has been spotted in the Hidden Cloud Village. I was informed about this by the Raikage from the Land of Lightning. Recently, a dozen of Jounins were found murdered at the village's gate, but one was found alive and still breathing. After he recovered from his injuries, he vaguely recollected the dangerous individual: he was tall, brooding, midnight-colored long hair, had unusual lines under his eyes, and crimson eyes. He also remembered how he looked into his eyes and he became trapped in a world of crimson and black, being stabbed repeatedly. It felt like he was enduring the pain for eternity, but realized it was just a powerful genjutsu. When I read the report from the Raikage, I informed him that this sounds like the missing-nin from our own village; former Akatsuki member Uchiha Itachi…"

Sakura's skin color started to drain out of her. _Uchiha Itachi, the cold-hearted bastard who massacred his whole clan; who put 'him' through so much turmoil and angst. I can't believe Naruto and I let his ass run away during the battle! I still feel so disappointed at myself because of that!_ She squeezed her fists tightly beside her.

"The Raikage investigated the matter more, and found out that Uchiha Itachi is currently residing in the village at a secret hideout. They aren't entirely sure about his whereabouts in the village, but they suspect that he's somewhere in the rural area." Tsunade folded her raised hands and rested her chin on top of them, giving the ANBU squad a stern expression.

"I know that this is your first mission in the Land of Lightning. They rarely call for our help and duty, but this time they really need it," Tsunade cleared her throat, "everyone, your mission is to help the village to hunt down and execute Uchicha Itachi. If any of you are minimally informed, he is an S-class rank nin and is extremely dangerous. Proceed with caution. I also dispatched hunter-nins to help all of you on this mission, if it gets out of hand..."

"That fucking bastard!" Naruto angrily blurted out. He clenched his fists and was about to pound the Godaime's table, but Sakura held him back from doing so.

"Naruto and Sakura, please do not let your emotions get in the way of this mission. I know both of you are extremely disappointed because he escaped during the Akatsuki battle. Please compose yourself and take care of the mission," Tsunade solemnly told the both of them. She opened her drawer and took out a set of scrolls. She distributed one to each of them.

"Arigato, Tsunade-sama," Neji answered with a serious tone, "we will try our best to hunt him down."

They all proceeded to walk out of the office.

"Good luck to you all!" Tsunade called out after them. Then the door shut behind them.

* * *

"I am going to beat the living shit out of that motherfucker!" Naruto roared. 

"Uzumaki, please tone down your voice and calm yourself down," Neji calmly replied.

Sakura felt as angry as Naruto, but tried her best to hide it. She was trying her best to calm down her ferocious teammate.

_Just when I thought my life was hard enough, this has to happen…_She thought to herself as she patted Naruto's back.

They continued walking down the Hokage establishment's corridor.

* * *

Sakura arrived at home and opened the door to her apartment. 

_I got to prepare myself for that mission tomorrow…_

_

* * *

_


	9. The Interference

**A/N:** Yay! More comments! 'jumps for joy'

**Amyst:** Wow! Thank you sooo much for commenting on every chapter so far! Well, if you're wondering, I didn't forget that this is a _SASUxSAKU _fic. Let's just say I want to put the readers through suspense and anticipation mwahahaha! I'm glad you and everyone else that commented are liking the story so far!

Anyway, this chapter is very long. This will show the special platonic bond Sakura and Naruto share with each other. It may get on the emotional side, so you better have a tissue box near...(if you're weak at heart).

* * *

**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**

Today was the day; the day she would face the deadly former Akatsuki member.

Sakura felt a mix of anger and fear within her. She wanted him to die, and suffer a violent and bloody end. She knows that Sasuke was the one who wanted to avenge his older brother for all the torment he put him through, but if he couldn't do it, Sakura was willing to do it for him.

In the back of Sakura's mind, she felt that Sasuke's body had gotten taken over by Orochimaru already. He would be inside her ex-crush's body and consume his whole inner being. He wouldn't be the same Sasuke anymore, therefore he wouldn't contemplate about avenging his clan and murdering his older brother. Orochimaru had plans of his own, and was probably using his body to do so.

_No, no, no! Why are you even thinking of 'him' during this time of crisis? I must push these thoughts aside in order to fight properly…_

She suited up herself with the black tights that clung to her curves and the protective white vestiges over them. She put on the additional protective arm and leg gears and anything else that the ANBU were required to wear. She also gathered her pastel pink tresses to form a high pony tail on top of her head.

She grabbed her pouch and neatly placed the necessary weapons and medical products that were needed for the mission. She attached the pouch to her right hip, on the white vestige.

_Medical products…check._

_Shurikens…check._

_Kunais…check._

_Senbon needles…check._

_Oh yeah, and my katana._

She opened her closet and carefully got a hold of her katana. It was placed in a beautifully decorated holster.

_Katana…check._

_Ah! And of course, my ANBU mask._

She went to her drawer and opened it so she can get her ANBU mask. It looked like a face of a devilish neko (cat) with various red lines on it. She carefully placed the mask on her head, but not over her face. It was turned sideways towards the right side.

She went to her refrigerator and drank some milk from the carton. After that, she looked over her contents to see if she had all of what she needed.

Now she was ready for the mission that may have a huge impact on her life.

_OK, it's time to kick major ass!_

She walked out of the apartment and was about to close the door, but before she could do so, she opened it again and looked inside._ I will come back home to this place after I'm done with this mission_…then she locked the door after her. She headed towards the village's gate.

* * *

"Shit man! It's 7 in the morning! I'm still sleepy!" Naruto wailed to his squad mates as he rubbed his eyes. 

"Haha Naruto, you better wake your ass up and prepare for the battle of your life!" Kiba mocked.

Naruto's body straightened up and his eyes opened up more. "Hmm yeah, you're right! This could also prove my potential for being the next Hokage, dattebayo!"

"You and that dream of yours, Uzumaki. I'm surprised you haven't given up on it," Neji smirked at the fox demon.

"Yeah right! It's my way of the ninja!" Naruto shot his fist in the air. Now he looked like he was completely wide awake. Ten-Ten and Shino let out sweatdrops.

All of them were clad in their ANBU gear. Neji was helping Ten-Ten polish her special weapons, since she's the weapons specialist in the squad. Kiba and Naruto were fighting about who would be the first to find and execute the Uchicha psycho. Shino just stood around, while having a little "conversation" with one of his bugs on his right index finger.

"Good morning, everybody!" Sakura happily greeted.

"Sakura-chan, you made it!" Naruto broke out of his argument with Kiba and greeted her.

"Of course! I would never flake out on a mission!"

"Hey Sakura-chan! I have to talk to you about something!" Kiba exclaimed.

_Oh no, is this about Nozomi-chan and the blind date!_

"What is it, Kiba-san?" Sakura asked, expecting her thoughts to be confirmed true.

"It's about Nozomi-chan…" Kiba's cheeks turned pinkish.

_I knew it…_

"OHH! Does Kiba have a girllllfrienddddd, dattebayo!" Naruto mocked, as he stuck out his tongue.

"Shut up, Naruto! You don't see me taunting you and Hinata-chan!" Kiba roared at him. Both of the boys started another shouting match.

Sakura covered her ears and walk passed them. She walked towards Neji and Ten-Ten.

"Ohayo Neji-san and Ten-Ten-chan!" She warmly greeted them. They smiled at her in acknowledgement.

More of there ANBU comrades showed up shortly there after, along with some of the hunter-nin.

"OK everyone! It's time to get organized and let this mission commence!" Neji proclaimed as loud as he could. The boys ended their shouting match and looked towards their captain's direction.

* * *

They all proceeded to walk out of the gates of Konoha. Sakura whipped her head back to look at Konoha one last time, and then turned her head forward to continue walking with her ANBU comrades. 

"Hey Sakura-chan, sorry about earlier. I was supposed to talk about the situation with Nozomi-chan with you until freakin' Naruto had to butt in," Kiba whispered to Sakura as he was walking beside her.

His pace started to slow down more, making him go towards the back. Sakura understood his gesture, and proceeded to walk the same pace as him until she reached the back of the group with him.

"Well, I visited her a few days ago and she's still wondering if there will be a social event happening in Konoha soon. She really wants to visit and meet you too! She's so happy that you accepted the offer. I told her a good amount of information about you. She told Yasashiku-san about you and he's anticipating to meet you as well!" Kiba excitedly told Sakura, trying his best not to talk so loudly.

"Wow really? I don't know what to say?" Sakura gave a gentle smile to Kiba.

"Do you know of any social events happening soon?"

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure there will be one next month. But I'm not too sure of what the plans will be though. Gomen!"

"That's OK. I'll find out sooner or later."

As trees shortly appeared before them, the huge group jumped upon the branches and started to swiftly move from one branch to another with quickness.

"Hey everyone, this will be our first time going to the Land of Lightning. So this is our first mission in this unfamiliar territory," Neji proclaimed from the very front of the group. He took out a map from his pouch and glanced at it.

"In order for all of us to get to the Land of Lightning, we must head northwest. We have to depart from the Land of Fire, pass through the Land of Sound—"

"NANI!" Naruto loudly interrupted his captain, as his eyes widened like saucers behind his fox-like ANBU mask, "that's where Orochimaru resides at! That snake motherfu—"

"Silence, Lieutenant! Remember what Tsunade-sama told you: don't let your emotions interfere with this mission," Neji told him with a dignified tone in his voice, as they continued to jump from one branch to another. The squad was still trailing behind them.

_We have to pass through the Land of Sound? What if we encounter that perverted asshole Orochimaru… and him?_ Sakura shook her head behind her mask.

"It will take approximately 2 to 3 days to reach the Land of Lightning. Once we get there, we will enter the Hidden Cloud Village," Neji continued his speech. The mass nodded in acknowledge to their captain's speech.

Suddenly, he activated his Byuukugan vision behind his mask. Veins bulged out from the corner of his eyes. He looked ahead of him, then to his right and left side.

"So far, this area is clear of any danger. Let's continue on, comrades," Neji's dignified low voice rumbled throughout the forest.

They continued to jump from one branch to another.

* * *

It was already 5'o clock in the afternoon, and they were finally out of the Konoha territory. They were still in the Land of Fire, but very close to its borders. They were almost reaching the Land of Sound. 

The sky started to turn into a canvas of purple and orange haze, as the sun started to set over the land. The scene made Sakura softly sigh in awe because of its natural beauty. Sweat beads were dripping on her face behind her mask. She panted lightly from the continuous pace the squad kept going in. She wasn't the only one starting to feel the effects of exhaustion. Sakura heard many volumes of panting around her.

"Everyone, we are almost reaching the northwest border of the Land of Fire. We are going to precede Sound territory there after," Neji proclaimed through his panting. Ten-Ten came next to him and lightly patted his back.

"You're an incredible captain, Neji-kun," she whispered to him through her mask.

An hour later, they finally reached the border. They retreated on land next to a beautiful waterfall.

"We will halt here for now and eat dinner," Neji captain announced to the squad.

"OK, captain," Naruto replied, "yosh! It's a good thing I brought my little pot and instant ramen with me!" He proceeded to take off his mask and take out the mentioned products out of his backpack.

"Neh Sakura-chan! I brought enough instant ramen that could feed about 9 to 10 people. Do you want in on this?" the young man flashed his foxy grin to her, "you know you can't resist this offer, dattebayo!"

"Sure Naruto! Thank you so much. I didn't bother to bring food with me because I had a feeling you would bring a lot. Plus, lugging a backpack around would be too much of a hassle for me," she replied as she took off her mask. She was wiping the sweat from her face.

"Hey Kiba! You want in on this too, man?" Naruto offered to him.

"Sure. Thanks a lot! I didn't bring food with me either. I'm fuckin' starving!" Kiba was rubbing his stomach in a circular motion.

"Haha. I knew bringing a shitload of ramen would come in handy!" Naruto felt proud of the generosity he displayed for his colleagues, "and whoever else wants ramen, come join the club!" Neji, Ten-Ten, Shino, and a few others accepted his offer.

Naruto went to gathered some scattered sticks from branches of trees so he can start a fire for the cooking…or more like just heating up the instant ramen. He came back and started the make-shift fire. He cooked the 10 packets of ramen one by one, serving them to his teammates. He looked goofy stirring the ramen in the pot while he had a huge foxy grin plastered on his face.

The squad proceeded to eat.

* * *

"Lieutenant, you're a life-saver! Good job on bringing the food and thanks a lot!" Neji proclaimed as he patted Naruto on the back. He was full from eating the Beef Ramen. 

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Naruto!" Sakura and Ten-Ten said in unison.

"You're welcome, guys!" Naruto beamed another smile while rubbing the back of his head. He let out a loud burp and excused himself.

"We'll stay here for the night, before entering the Sound territory," Neji announced, "so we'll rest for the time being."

Few minutes later, people started to sleep one by one

* * *

Sakura and Naruto decided to walk towards the waterfall and have some conversation time with each other. After all, they are best of friends who need to catch up on each other's lives. 

"Neh, Sakura-chan, how have you been lately?"

"I've been OK. How about you, Naruto?"

"Oh, I've been great myself! I've been spending vast amount of time with Hinata-chan! Sakura-chan, do you know how much I love her? It's so unexplainable. I don't think there are enough words to describe the joy she has bestowed upon me. She's taught me how to truly love. She's practically the only one who showers me with so much love and care, other than Iruka-sensei," his azure orbs started to glaze over as a small smile formed on his face. He looked into the crystal clear water at his own reflection.

"Sakura-chan, I want to ask her hand in marriage soon. I'm still thinking of a special and romantic way of doing so though, dattebayo…" his voice became softer and he looked at Sakura.

Sakura grinned at her best friend. She was truly happy for him. Once she heard him confess his love for Hinata, she let out a mental "awwwwwww!" inside of her mind. She gently rested her hand on the golden-haired young man.

"That is extremely sweet, Naruto! I am so glad that you and Hinata are happy with each other! You two are such a beautiful couple," Sakura replied with a soft voice as she kept the smile on her face.

"Sakura-chan, how do you think I should propose to her?" he asked her, "like for instance, what would your dream proposal be if a man were to do so for you?"

Sakura was silent for a moment at the question her best friend asked of her. She retreated back to a dream she had a month ago. _That dream_…

"Well…" she finally said, "I remember I had a dream a month ago, and it was about the very same question you just asked me…"

Naruto's azure orbs became more fixated on her.

"I remember in the dream, I was blind-folded and a callous hand took mine to slowly guided me into a wooden platform of some sort. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was extremely wobbly. He guided me slowly over it and proceeded to carefully sit me down on it. Curiosity stung me so much and I couldn't help but giggle so much. I felt him go on to the wooden platform as well. Before I knew it, we started to move. I started to figure out that I was on a wooden boat. I heard him gently rowing the oars over the water. I kept asking him if I could take off the blindfold yet, but he said not yet. I clung tightly to my dress, eager to see the surprise. A few minutes later, he slowly took off my blindfold. We were on a beautiful, crystal clear lake. There were a lot of swans floating around us, staring up at us with its beautiful features. They seemed to move and create a path for us to row through. Cherry blossom trees also surrounded the lake and I saw the pink petals float on the lake like delicate feathers. With each row, cherry blossom leaves fell upon us. I kept gasping and I squealed with delight. I hugged the man tightly, as tears fell down my cheek…"

Naruto had an awe expression on his face as he was listening to the dream of his roseatte-haired teammate.

"…then I remember he said, '_Sakura, I brought you here because this is the only surrounding that comes close to explaining your beauty. It was difficult to find anything that could compare to your beauty. See the swans swimming around us: looking at them makes every individual admire their gorgeous existence. This is how I feel whenever I look at you, Sakura sweetheart. See the cherry blossoms surrounding us: it's aromatic smell and gentle aura they omit brings comfort to everyone. That is how I feel whenever I'm around you. You glow with happiness and are willing to comfort me, no matter how much I have pushed you away. You refused to give up on me, even though I insulted you to the point where I broke your heart. Even though I did all of those horrible things to you, you still managed to love me despite everything I put you through. I asked myself why and I finally realized that I am a lucky man to have such a woman who is willing to endure so much pain because she loves me so much. Sakura, you have taught me to open up, be free of my troubles, and what true love and bliss is. I want to continue feeling these emotions that I have within my heart whenever I see you, hear you, smell you, and touch you. Sakura Haruno, will you marry me?_'…"

A tear slid down her cheek as she continued with her dream.

"I was speechless and my face turned a crimson red as I saw him slowly take out from his pocket a velvety navy blue box and opened it in front of me. My face was sticky with salty tears and more came out as I saw the beautiful, shiny diamond in front of my eyes. I finally said yes and hugged him tightly, while saying '_I love you'_…"

Naruto patted Sakura's back. "Sakura-chan, that is such a beautiful dream…" he hesitated on the next question he wanted to ask her, but he decided to just ask her anyway.

"The man in your dream…was it…S-Sasuke…?" he asked with a quiet voice.

Sakura's eyes started to fill up with more tears and she looked at the golden-haired boy in the face. She started to sob.

"N-Naruto, I-I don't know w-why h-he was the o-one i-i-in my d-d-dream. I-I-I try my h-hardest to s-s-stop th-thinking about h-h-him, but i-it's s-s-soo fu-fucking d-d-d-d-difficult," she leaned into Naruto's left shoulder and he was rubbing her back in a circular motion. She was violently sobbing and hiccupping. She was on the brink of hyper-ventilating through her crying fit.

"Shhh, it's OK, Sakura-chan. I know you deeply love him. You try your hardest to deny it, but you truly do…"

She looked up at him and gave him a slight nod.

* * *

_Fucking Sakura! You weakling! I can't believe you're crying again!_ Inner Sakura butted in. 

_Shut up! I can't help it! I STILL LOVE HIM!_ She fought with her Inner self.

_What about that Yasashiku guy? Aren't you going to go on a blind date with him, baka?_ Inner Sakura rebutted.

_I am…but it's not like I have feelings for the guy! Remember, I'm only doing it for Kiba-san. I want him to hook up with Nozomi-chan!_

_Oh will you give that crap up? Something will form between you and that Yasashiku guy!_

_I don't want anything to happen between us! Inner self, just leave me the fuck alone right now, alright?_

_Whatever, you damn crybaby. Keep on suffering for all I care…_

_

* * *

_"I'm sorry I brought this subject up, Sakura-chan…" Naruto felt guilty for making his best friend re-live her thoughts.

"N-No N-N-N-N-Naruto! It's n-n-not your f-fault! I-I-I keep th-th-th—" Sakura choked on her sobs and started to hyper-ventilate.

Naruto immediately hugged Sakura tighter, rocking her in his arms. He felt like crying as he saw his best friend cry from agony and pain below him.

_Sasuke-teme, look at the hell you're putting Sakura-chan through. You better come back to us and mend her broken heart. I hope you've changed for the better…_Naruto thought as he looked up at the nightsky and continued to rock Sakura in his arms.

He was getting drowsy and he started to drift asleep, while he was still hugging Sakura. She fell asleep on his chest while she was having her mental breakdown. The two nins were lying next to the waterful, which the gentle trickling lulled them into dreamland.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura unconsciously said in her sleep.

Naruto opened his eyes half way and looked at her.

_Sakura-chan, one day your dream will come true. I know it will…_then he proceeded to close his eyes and go back to sleep.

* * *


	10. The Scroll Of Coincidence

**A/N: **Yosh! More comments!

**KaZa-Q: **I'm glad you liked the dream sequence! I intended it to be very romantic and emotional, to the point it makes Sakura cry re-telling it to Naruto.

**Ryushi-the-DutchEroSennin: **Thank you! Yes, that was my goal: to display Sakura's emotions in a raw and intense way. I'm glad you admire it and I hope you like what you're reading so far! 

**Nyteness:** Yes, Sasuke's appearance will happen soon...hehe.

**crazy-antman:** Thank you for the compliment!

**InuyashaObssessed101:** I know Sakura is being extremely emotional. Interesting reason I made her like that is because her personality is very similar to mine when I was her age. I decided to incorporate my own emotional experiences (not a whole lot of them though) into Sakura's persona so she would seem very real to life. You can say that I associate with her very well.

**Chocobaby: **Oh, there's more sadness to come. Maybe you should have a tissue box right by you haha.

**LoneSakura: **Awww dear! I'm surprised I made you cry during the dream sequence. I honestly felt like crying myself while I was in the process of writing it haha, so you are not alone. There will be more emotional scenes in upcoming chapters.

Thank you everyone for your generous comments! 'glomps you all haha'

* * *

**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**

Sakura woke up to the sun beaming its rays on her and the melodic chirping of birds on branches. She lazily opened her eyes and lifted her head from Naruto's chest. She was careful not to stir him. He shifted around a little as Sakura slowly lifted herself up. Her jaded eyes looked at her best friend.

_Naruto, I'm sorry for putting you through my personal hell. You deserve to stay happy and not get pulled into my suffering… _

She realized she left a damp spot on Naruto's white vestige. She inspected herself and felt the upper part of her ANBU outfit was sticky from all the tears she shed. Sakura walked towards the water and gathered some to cleanse her face and outfit.

Shortly there after, Naruto started to wake up.

"Sakura-chan, are you feeling better now?" he asked her with a tired voice and worried look on his face.

"A little bit. Thank you for comforting me, Naruto. You're a wonderful best friend," Sakura gave him a gentle smile.

"Ah, you are always welcome! You know I care for you a lot, Sakura-chan!"

"I'm also sorry for damping your ANBU uniform…" Sakura said as she felt a tinge of embarrassment within her.

"Neh, it's OK. Better than getting soaked in blood," he walked towards the water and squatted beside Sakura. He gathered some of the clear liquid to cleanse himself too.

"Well, we better go back to the squad. They must be looking for us," Sakura said as she stood up from her spot.

Naruto nodded and followed Sakura as she walked towards their squad's camp out.

* * *

"Where's Sakura-chan and Naruto?" Kiba asked Neji. They have been awake for about 30 minutes now. 

"I'm not too sure. Last I saw of them, they walked together into another area. I'm sure they will meet up with us soon," Neji replied

After Neji said that, the 2 best friends walked towards the mass.

"Ah! There you guys are!" Kiba exclaimed.

"What did I tell you?" Neji gave him a smirk.

"Ohayo everyone," Sakura greeted them, but not with her usual cheery tone.

"Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?" Ten-Ten asked with a look of concern on her face.

"No, no, Ten-Ten-chan. Don't worry, I'm fine," Sakura waved her hand in front of her face and gave her squad a gleaming smile.

"Yeah, don't worry. She's fine, dattebayo," Naruto backed her up so no one will ask what was really wrong with her.

"OK, since everyone is here, we will continue on with our mission. Let us all depart!" Neji commanded to the mass.

"Yosh!" Kiba and Naruto exclaimed in unison.

Everyone packed up their materials and put the ANBU mask on their faces. They proceeded to walk out of their camp-out. Sakura was running a little bit behind, still putting away her necessary products for the mission in her pouch. Earlier she took out all of the items to double check if they were all there, then she put them back in again.

"Neh, Sakura-chan! Hurry up before you get left behind!" Naruto exclaimed as he was walking ahead already.

"Gomen! I'm coming!" She hastily dusted herself off and ran to her squad.

What she didn't realize was that she left her mission scroll on the ground as she was sorting through her products in her pouch.

* * *

_I'm finally free from that hell! I can't believe that dumbass believed my lie!_

A mysterious ninja was swiftly jumping from one branch to another.

* * *

Sakura felt the presence of that ninja around them. She tugged at Naruto's arm. 

"I feel another presence by us," she whispered with a scowl on her face, as she looked around to where that individual specifically was.

Naruto tried to feel the presence as well, but it was already too weak to detect.

"Sakura-chan, I think that 'presence' is going the other direction, even though they passed by us. If they were harmful, they would have attacked us. It's probably just an innocent bystander walking through the area. Don't worry."

"You're right. I don't feel that person's presence anymore," they continued walking behind their group.

* * *

_Oh shit! I just realized there was an ANBU unit and hunter-nins walking on the ground! _

The ninja briefly saw their distinctive masks and uniforms. He didn't bother carefully observing more characteristics of each ANBU and hunter-nin member. He quickened his pace on the branches, careful not to make any noise or disturbance so he won't get caught.

_I hope they're not hunting after me! I can't die yet! I still have more goals to fulfill…_

His onyx-colored orbs cringed and his teeth gritted behind the black mask he wore on the lower half of his face. His raven spikes swayed from one side to the other as he jumped from one branch to another. Occassionally, he would push aside the bangs that blocked his vision. He was wearing a black top that exposed his finely built torso through the tight-fitting material and his muscularly slender arms. His arms were wrapped with white and black wraps. He wore baggy navy blue pants, similar to the ones that Jounins wear in Konoha. Just below the ending of his pants, fishnets were exposed that were 3 inches above his ankles. The right leg of his pants had white wraps bound to it. He had a belt holster that contained kunais and shurikens. In his right hand, he was holding a large katana. It was stained with crimson blood and tissue matter. The contents on his sword started to dry up, after butchering an individual hours earlier.

_I want to find that asshole soon! Wait, what if he's dead already? No, that's impossible. He's too powerful to die right now. At least I am at equal level with that man, so I'll be able to eradicate his sorry ass. But how am I going to find him? _

He gracefully descended on to the ground, in the former camp-out of the ANBU squad. He leaned against one of the tree trunks and hooked his right index finger on his mask to slowly pull it down, exposing the extremely handsome features on his face.

_Sasuke, at least you achieved something earlier today. He's dead, and now I have to kill that other person; my bastard brother of mine. I hope he rots in hell for all the torment he's put me through for the past 9 years! I want those nightmares to go away already! _

He buried his face in his hands. He emerged out of them and punched the tree trunk behind him with his right hand. Blood trickled down his hand, as splinters pierced his knuckles. He ignored the pain because the inner pain from his angst and torment was more severe.

As he turned around to look at the scene around him, he noticed a small object sprawled on the grass. He curiously observed it and was cautiously approaching it, worried it would be an exploding weapon the ANBU left behind as a trap. He slowly pulled out his kunai just in case he needed to defend himself from flying paraphernalia. As he came closer to the mysterious object, he realized it was harmless. He gingerly picked it up and ran his hands over it.

_This is an ANBU scroll that contains information on a mission assignment! Maybe one of the dumbasses forgot it here or accidently dropped it. Wait, maybe this is a decoy? Something to lure me into opening, then something negatives happen to me?_ Sasuke thought as he hesitated to open the scroll in his hands.

An aromatic scent enticed his nose. It omitted from the scroll.

_God, this smells like…Sakura petals._

His eyes gazed down at the scroll and a soft expression formed on his face.

_Those pink locks of hair, those huge jaded eyes, that radiant smile…_

He gazed at the scroll with more intensity.

_Is this…Sakura's scroll?_ _Could it be possible that she's an ANBU member now? _

He let out a small scoff.

_Ch! Maybe I'm wrong. She's probably still a weakling, and not to mention annoying!_

He slowly lifted his head to the cloudy blue sky.

_But…I wonder how she looks like now? Does she still look the same? Has she changed mentally, emotionally, and physically? How about that dobe, Naruto? I wouldn't mind bumping into those two again…_

He shook his head to clear the thoughts of his old teammates and looked at the scroll again._  
_

_Ahh fuck it! I'll just open this scroll. It seems harmless anyway…_

Sasuke proceeded to carefully open the scroll. As he finished unrolling it, he read the contents. His eyes widened and he started to clench his teeth. He didn't know whether he wanted to jump for joy from the discovery he made or to throw it on the ground and aggressively stomp on it.

_So that's the location of that fucker! I've been trying to look for him too! It's a lucky coincidence that I happen to stumble upon this scroll! Itachi, I'm going to hunt you down before those ANBU idiots do and I'll butcher you into little pieces just like that other teme! _

Sasuke immediately picked up his belongings, put his mask back on, and jumped on to the branches. He brought the scroll with him. He started to head towards the same direction as the ANBU squad: The Land of Lightning.

_I think I should conceal my chakra so none of the ANBU members can detect me. I don't want to start shit with them. Meh, that will take up too much time!_

He forced himself to conceal his chakra as he continued to swiftly jump from one branch to another.

_Arigato Sakura, for dropping that scroll on the ground…if it truly does belong to you…_He thought to himself. _I actually miss seeing that radiant smile of yours, not to mention your upbeat attitude. _

A small smirk formed behind his dark mask.

* * *

**A/N:** Mwahahaha what did I tell ya! Sasuke has finally appeared! 

_'GASP'_ I wonder what will happen next!

Oh yeah, comments for this chapter would be greatly appreciated.

* * *


	11. Lost Symphonies

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the lag on the update! I started school last Monday (I attend Cal State University of Fullerton). My schedule will probably take a lot of my time, especially on updating this story frequently. But don't fear! Whenever I have the time or if I'm on break, then I will continue updating this. Don't think that I will abandon this fanfic. I enjoy writing it, and I'm glad that many of you are liking it!

To the many of you who provided comments, arigato! It brought a smile to my face when I read the various inputs. They're very encouraging and thoughtful!

So in return, I decided to make this a long chapter. I think this chapter is longer than the previous ones.

**Warning:** There are explicit and violent descriptions in this chapter. Don't say that I didn't warn you! And yes, there is some good ol' profanity as usual.

Oh yeah, there will be 2 new characters introduced in this chapter as well.

The title of this chapter is from Saosin's song "Lost Symphonies." The chapter is not based on the song itself, but I thought it was appropriate to title this chapter by using that song's name (**Disclaimer**). So in other words, it's not a songfic.

Enough of my rambling...on with the story!

* * *

**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**

"Attention everyone, within an hour or so, we will reach the Sound border." Neji proclaimed to the squad. Once again, he activated his Byakugan through his mask to check their surroundings for any danger. He couldn't spot anything harmful at the moment. "It appears to be clear from what I've inspected with my Byakugan so far."

"Good. We won't be wasting our time fighting any idiots," Naruto exclaimed all the way from the back of the group. Sakura let out a small giggle.

"Neh Sakura-chan, how do you feel about reaching the Sound territory, dattebayo?"

She craned her neck to face him and her jade eyes started to widen through the holes of her mask. Naruto felt he jolted her nerves once again, and felt even worse than before. He doesn't want Sakura to have another emotional outburst!

"I honestly don't know. I feel a mixture of nervousness, anger, and fear," Naruto gave a mental sigh of relief and grinned behind his mask.

"I know how you feel, Sakura-chan…"

_I wonder if we will encounter Sasuke-kun once we reach there? _Sakura thought to herself.

_Shannaro! You are going to kick some Sound ass!_ Inner Sakura exclaimed.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Kiba snapped her out of thoughts as he ran towards her direction, coming from the front of the group.

"What do you want!" Naruto barked.

"Whoa now! I mean no harm! I just want to talk about Nozomi-chan with Sakura-chan," Kiba formed a huge grin behind his mask.

_Oh great, he'll probably bring up Yasashiku-kun too…_Sakura mentally groaned to herself.

"Ohhh! Can I listen in on your conversation, dattebayo! I want to hear about your new girlfriend!"

"Haha whatever, baka. Go ahead if you want to," Kiba scoffed.

"Anything new with you and Nozomi-chan?" Sakura broke the death glares the two guys gave each other through their masks.

"Well, since I told you that I spent time with her recently, she got prettier than before! Her hair grew a little longer, and she changed her outfit. I find it to be quite hot, haha!"

"Haha, atta boy, Kiba. You're becoming a pervert!" Naruto chuckled. Sakura bashed him over the head.

"Ow! Gomen, Sakura-chan!"

"Perverts are disgusting!" she detested.

"No, I'm not a perv, you baka! I call her "pretty" and "beautiful" more than anything. I never say she's "sexy" or "hot." It sounds way too immature to do so, especially face-to-face to a girl."

"Atta boy, Kiba!" Sakura patted him on the back, "no wonder she's falling for you!"

"Oh, stop lying just because Sakura-chan is here! You know if you were just talking to me, you would use "sexy" and "hot" in your vocabulary. It will lead to a typical 'guy talk—'" Naruto scoffed and displayed his foxy grin behind his mask.

"Anyway…" Kiba cut him off, "where was I? Oh yeah!—"

_At least an hour will pass by very quickly…_Sakura thought to herself as she and Naruto continued to listen to Kiba's obsession with Nozomi-chan.

The mass continued to walk at a brisk pace.

* * *

_Shit! I have to go back to Sound territory in order to reach the Land of Lighting…_Sasuke thought to himself as he continued to jump from one tree branch to another. He was about a mile behind the ANBU squad.

* * *

An hour passed, and the mass finally reached the Sound border. The scenery around them looked desolate and bleak. Tall grass swayed in motion of the wind, which was the only noise to be heard other than from the group. 

Neji activated his Byukugan to be aware of an ambush or guerilla attackers. As he was scanning the area, he saw that the village was about a mile away from them. He was surprised by the fact that he couldn't spot any Sound nins guarding the border. The veins from the corner of his eyes resided beneath his skin. He turned around to face his squad.

"Attention everyone, it appears that this area is safe as well. It's deathly silent and desolate for some reason. Surprisingly, it's clear of any Sound nins. We shall now proceed, but please do with caution. Equip yourselves with your weapons just in case!"

_That's odd. Why aren't there any Sound nins guarding this area? I have a suspicion something has occurred here…_Sakura thought to herself after hearing her captain's observation.

"Don't you think that it's weird that there are no Sound nins guarding the border?" Naruto asked both Sakura and Kiba. They both nodded.

They all took out their weapons in case an ambush would occur at any moment. Sakura equipped herself with a kunai in her right hand and 2 shurikens in her left.

_This is it, the moment I've been waiting for: entering the Sound village. I wonder how it looks like? I can't believe this is actually happening! _Sakura's lips started to tremble behind her feline-looking mask.

She was broken out of her thoughts with another proclamation from her captain.

"This is a reminder, everyone: this is a territory owned by Orochimaru. He is a powerful legendary sennin and considered to be extremely dangerous. We must be careful if we come in contact with him. For now, please stick together and do not stray away," Neji eyes darted toward Naruto's direction, "Lieutenant Uzumaki Naruto, please come to the front to accompany me as we proceed towards the village."

"Yes captain!" Naruto replied as he ran towards the front of the group. He caught up to Neji and the whole group continued to cautiously walk through the territory.

_Oh my God, what if we really do come in close contact with Orochimaru? How about Sasuke-kun?_ Sakura felt her heart pound violently within her chest. She could have sworn her heart would burst out from her chest any minute. She started to tremble. Kiba noticed her arms were trembling.

"Sakura-chan, are you OK?" Kiba asked her.

"I'm just a little nervous. That's all. After all, this is our first time going through Sound territory and encountering Orochimaru."

"Ah, I know what you mean. This kind of mission makes me wanna shit in my pants!" Kiba sheepishly laughed and rubbed the back of his head. Sakura let out a soft giggle.

"Byakugan!"

Neji activated his bloodline limit power once again when they were just a few yards away from the Sound village. Naruto observed the bleak surroundings to check and see if the Sound nins were playing a sick joke because none of them have attacked so far. It surprised everyone in the group, including Sakura and Kiba. They still readied themselves with their weapons.

"This is unusual! There are no attackers in sight! Let's proceed once again!" Neji proclaimed as he motioned his left arm towards the village.

_Oh fuck, we're getting closer…_

Sakura took another step.

…_and closer…_

And another.

…_and closer…_

Her heart started to beat faster, and gulped a huge lump in her throat.

* * *

_Is that the ANBU squad over there? Shit, they're going to see what I did! I have to sneak pass them somehow… _

Sasuke still had his chakra concealed as he viewed from a tree branch that wasn't too far behind the group, but not as noticeable to plain view though. He hid within the shadows of the swaying tree leaves. Sasuke was able to view the group, but not as clearly.

_OK, if they decide to observe the village, I can manage to slip right past them while having my chakra conceal. I hope they won't spot me!_

_

* * *

_As the group got closer to the village, Neji and Naruto noticed blood spatter patterns on the ground in front of the massive entrance gate.

"What the fuck happened here!" Naruto growled behind his mask.

"I'd like to know too. It's so damn silent here. This is really unusual," Kiba growled out as well, "captain, should we inspect the area?"

"Hmm, I think it's considerable that we should. We can report back gathered information to Tsunade-sama. It might be resourceful to her," Neji replied to Kiba's question, "everyone, proceed with caution please."

_Oh my God, what if…Sasuke-kun…is…_

_Sakura! Shut up! Stop being pessimistic!_ Inner Sakura's thoughts interrupted her original reverie.

Sakura's face contorted into a look of despair. She was afraid that she will view a scene that may scar her for the rest of her life. She didn't want to see the decomposing corpse of her beloved. Her world would crumble in front of her eyes if this were to happen.

"Byakugan!" Neji activated his bloodline specialty once again to observe the surroundings of the Sound Village.

It was unusually silent, as if they were walking through a graveyard. They looked around to see worn down houses and shops. It seemed like there was no soul at sight; it was as though everyone that resided in this village decided to pack-up and leave, or even worse…a massacre must have occurred. The scent of blood, rotting corpse, and smoke filled the desolate air of the village. Sakura shuddered at her observations and the disturbing scent in the air.

_This must have been like what happened to the Uchiha clan those many years ago. Poor Sasuke-kun. That must have been so hellish for him_…Sakura retreated back to her thoughts.

"H-Help! Help, p-please s-s-somebody help!"

The squad looked around to find out where the faint call came from. It sounded like it came from a young boy. Naruto peered through the window of one of the worn down households and saw the boy in the corner of the living room with his mother. They were both quivering from whatever occurred earlier in this village.

"A-are you g-going to h-hurt us?" the young boy asked the golden-haired ANBU squad lieutenant. Naruto slowly raised up his mask from his face and gave the boy his gentle fox grin.

"No, we aren't here to hurt the both of you, dattebayo," Naruto kindly replied. The squad followed Naruto to the household and came inside to gather up the two of them. With much persistence and persuasion, they finally managed to convince them to remove themselves from the corner of the room. The boy and his mother had brunette hair and wore loose, baggy shirts with capri black pants, similar to Orochimaru's Sound attire. This must be the main type of clothing that the Sound villagers wear.

"Captain, can I ask them the whereabouts of Orochimaru…and…Sasuke?" Naruto whispered to Neji, as they both observed Sakura comforting the quivering mother and son.

Neji's face gave a hint of thought and concern mixed together. "Alright. This will be helpful information that we will report to Tsunade-sama. But remember Naruto, don't let your emotions interfere. The one I'm mainly concerned about is Sakura-chan though. What if she finds out that Sa—"

"Captain! Don't you dare think or say anything like that of any nature!" Naruto roared while gritting his teeth. Everyone looked towards his direction.

"Is something wrong, Naruto?" Sakura asked with concern in her voice.

"Lieutenant, you do not raise your voice like that to your captain!" Neji roared back.

Both of the males started to glare at each other, but Sakura ran towards them and came between them. She had her arms out-stretched, holding both of the males back.

"Captain, lieutenant, please don't display such rage here. This is not the time," Sakura proclaimed as she looked towards the ground.

"Sakura-chan is right. Gomenesai, captain," Neji accepted Naruto's apology.

"Go ahead and ask them, Naruto."

Naruto walked towards the mother and son. His azure orbs gave them a look of pity because of the petrified condition they were in. Finally, he mustered the courage to ask them his question. Sakura looked towards their direction, curious to what her best friend is planning to ask them.

"Hey buddy, what is your name?" Naruto asked while ruffling the boy's brunette hair.

"I-I'm K-Kyoshi," the 8-year-old boy stuttered in a barely audible tone.

_Aww, his stuttering reminds me of my Hina-chan. I miss her already…_Naruto reminisced for a little bit.

"…and how about you, ma'am?" he broke out of his reverie and gazed up at the beautiful brunette woman's midnight orbs.

"My name is Koto."

"Nice to meet the both of you! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" Naruto displayed his foxy grin to them once again, "that's my name! Don't wear it out!"

Both of them formed a small smile and chuckled at Naruto's friendly and goofy demeanor.

"I would like to ask you both a question. I know it maybe a little too frightening to recollect the events that occurred earlier, but it would greatly help our group to find out what happened so we can protect the both of you furthermore," Naruto asked with a serious and concerned tone in his voice.

"I would like to know what happened here earlier, and the whereabouts of your leader, Orochimaru?" he cleared his throat to continue.

"…and a certain raven-haired shinobi named Uchiha Sasuke…?"

Both of them shuddered a little bit at Naruto's straight-forward interrogating and hesitated to answer the questions. Silence loomed over the individuals. Sakura had a look of anticipation on her face, waiting for the both of them to answer the very same questions she was contemplating about earlier.

Kyoshi finally mustered up courage to answer Naruto's questions. "I-I'm going t-to answer N-Naruto-san's q-questions, o-okaasan," His mother looked at her son with a concerned look but accepted the fact he was brave enough to do so. "Go ahead then, honey…"

"A-all I remember s-seeing was f-fire and s-smoke coming from O-Orochimaru-sama's compound. E-Everyone started r-running all over t-the place. T-They were screaming and I t-think a l-lot of them decided to p-pack up and l-leave the village. There a-are proba-ba-bly some o-other people here t-too, b-but are too scared t-to come o-out. They're proba-ba-bly sc-scared that th-they will get h-hurt as well, b-but I know _h-he_ wouldn't h-hurt anyone e-else in t-t-this v-village—"

Sakura's mouth gaped open and had a look of more anticipation, sensing that he wasn't done answering the question. Naruto looked at the boy with a soft expression and encouraged Kyoshi to continue on.

"Kyoshi-kun, who is this "he" you are talking about?"

"_H-his_ k-katana w-was covered with b-b-blood and g-guts. I-I tried to a-ask h-him what h-h-happened…"

"Who, Kyoshi-kun?" Sakura accidently blurted out. She immediately covered her mouth with her hands due to embarrassment.

_Dammit Sakura! Don't get so fucking antsy now! Let the boy talk_! Inner Sakura blurted out in her mind.

"S-S-Sasuke-san…"

The squad's reaction was a mixture of shock and astonishment. Sakura's emerald orbs widened and her mouth gaped open even more, while Naruto's expression went blank.

"What did Sasuke-san do, Kyoshi-kun?" Naruto continued to ask.

"S-Sasuke-san was r-running f-fast and h-he saw m-me on the st-street b-because I was w-watching the s-smoke c-coming from O-Orochimaru's p-place. He picked m-me up and p-placed m-me on my d-doorstep. H-He told m-me that 'e-everything will b-be OK f-from n-now on and n-not to w-worry anymore f-for my safe-t-ty,'" Kyoshi started to twiddle his fingers and tears started to develop in his huge, innocent eyes, "I-I miss S-S-Sasuke-san b-because he w-was like an o-older b-brother to m-me. H-He was n-n-nicer to m-me and the o-other people h-here compared t-t-to O-Orochimaru-sama a-and K-Kabuto-san. S-Sasuke-kun was w-well-liked i-in our v-v-village."

Koto nodded in agreement to what her son just stated about Sasuke.

* * *

_Oh no, I hope the villagers are not in harm's way since the ANBU squad are there now. _

Sasuke was yards away from the Sound village entrance and tried his best to continue concealing his chakra. He ran swiftly and managed to be out of the squad's sight range.

_Kyoshi-kun, remember what I told you, everything will be OK now! If the ANBU punks try to hurt you or the other villagers, I hope you all are strong enough to defend yourselves! I know all of you are_…

Sasuke glanced sorrowfully at the village's gates and continued on pursuing his quest to find his brother.

_I'll get their first before those dumbasses! _

* * *

Sakura and Naruto's expressions were of astonishment. Even Neji, Kiba, Ten-Ten, and Shino were surprised at the fact that Sasuke was even nice to other people. 

_S-Sasuke-kun actually has a heart? Am I dreaming?_ Sakura thought to herself.

"You're doing a good job, kiddo. Do you know what happened to Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto-san, Kyoshi-kun?" Naruto continued on.

"I-I really d-don't k-know. S-Sasuke-san said h-he had a f-fight w-with b-both of t-them. H-He said he h-had to l-leave to fulf-fill h-his g-goal. H-he said h-he w-will be b-back to s-see us a-again s-someday," he looked up at Naruto's azure orbs, "m-maybe you s-should check o-out O-Orochimaru-s-sama's c-compound b-because m-my m-mother a-and I didn't s-see h-him c-come out for m-many h-hours…"

"I think we should go and do that," Naruto agreed and ruffled Kyoshi's hair once again, "arigato for your help! Oh, and the way you talk and twiddle your fingers like that reminds me of my girlfriend back at home," he smiled at the boy once again.

"You're c-cool, N-Naruto-san! You k-kind of r-remind m-me of S-Sasuke-san!" the boy smiled while he wiped the remaining tears from his midnight orbs.

Naruto looked at him with a soft expression. _Really? I remind him of Sasuke-teme? Wow, that's a first…_

"Arigato, Kyoshi-kun and Ms. Koto for your help and generosity," Neji went up to both of them and shook their hands. Sakura and some of the other proceeded to do the same. Sakura was the most gracious one. She decided to give them bear hugs for their reliability.

Some of the other ANBU squad members and hunter-nins decided to remain in the village to look after the mother and son, and to find other petrified villagers hiding in their homes.

Sakura, Naruto, and Neji took the initiative to go to Orochimaru's compound to investigate the scene.

* * *

_Sasuke-kun, what the hell did you do here_? she asked herself once they reached the huge gate door of the snake sennin's lair. 

Once they opened the heavy gate door, they saw a horrendous scene: parts of the lair was burnt down; furniture and other furnishings were broken and scattered everywhere; there was blood splattered all over the place; there was still some smoke emitting from some charred furniture and the walls; the distinct scent of smoke and decomposition mixed together intoxicated the air.

Sakura and Naruto gagged from the strong scent. They both shuddered at the sight they saw, but knew the fact that Sasuke was not among the ruins since Kyoshi-kun stated that he ran away. Neji activated his Byukugan to observe more of the surroundings.

"I don't see them here. Maybe there is a room at the bottom level," he tried to look for the staircase leading towards the downstairs room with his bloodline limit. He finally found a partly charred door among the array of broken furnishings.

"There it is. Let's go!"

The 3 of them ran towards the door, removed the rubble in front of it, and Sakura used her "smashy, smashy" strength to punch the door open. They made their way down the cobble-stone stairs.

* * *

"Oh…my…dear…God…" 

"Holy shit…"

"…"

The 3 of them were extremely astonished at the scene they witnessed in the huge room: Orochimaru's corpse was strewn in the middle of the floor. His head was a few inches away from his charred corpse. A vast amount of blood flowed from his headless neck and dried up on the floor. Bits of tissue matter were scattered within the dried up crimson blood and limp blood vessel protruded from the remains of his neck. His head was facing towards their direction. His eyes were still open but his snake-like pupils were rolled to the back of head. His eyes looked like they were still glaring but with only the whites of the eyes showing. His mouth was open and grinning in a maniacal manner, with his long slithering snake tongue drooping from it.

_Oh my God, Sasuke-kun…y-you…m-murdered…Orochimaru…_Sakura almost gagged and fainted at the sight of Orochimaru's decapitated head from his body.

As the 3 of them sorted through the rubble, they managed to find Kabuto's mangled body. He was badly sliced up and he was missing his right arm. Sakura felt the urge to vomit even more when she saw Kabuto's blood vessels protruding from the dismembered right arm and blood trickling on to the rubble. He had a huge chunk of wood impaled through his heart area. Blood and tissue matter dried up on the deadly wooden weapon. His eyes were still open, but had a blank expression on his face. His mouth was slightly agape with a streak of blood running down the left corner of his mouth. His glasses were mixed up with the rubble, broken into miniscule pieces.

_He got too carried away. He actually caused this bloody madness?_ Sakura's skin color drained out of her.

"Fucking Sasuke-teme. He literally massacred the hell out of these 2…" Naruto solemnly said as he was plugging his nose from the pungent odor of decomposition.

"He definitely did…" Neji agreed as he plugged his nose as well.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Naruto asked as he glanced at Sakura coughing and gagging.

"I _'cough'_ don't get it. I'm used to_ 'cough' _seeing corpses since I'm a medic _'cough'_ nin, but for some _'cough'_ reason, I'm not used to seeing_ 'cough'_ _THIS_…" Sakura finally ran to a pile of rubble and vomited on top of it. Naruto ran to her side and patted her back.

"Don't worry, Naruto. I'm fine." Sakura reassured her best friend.

"At least he got rid of that Orochimaru-teme and Kabuto-teme! They deserved to die anyway since they attacked Konoha and killed the Sandaime! I hope they burn in hell, especially for taking Sasuke away from us!" Naruto said with a mixture relief and anger.

"I wonder where he ran off to…" Sakura muttered but both of the males heard her.

"As much as I want to find him as both of you do, that is not our mission. Our actual mission is to find and execute Uchiha Itachi," Neji stated matter-of-factly.

"We both know it is, but Sasuke was our teammate and we miss him dearly, dattebayo," Naruto replied back, trying to hold in his emotions.

"Yes we do, but we have to concentrate on hunting down Itachi first, Naruto," Sakura interjected, "then maybe after that, Tsunade-sama will grant us a mission to find Sasuke-kun."

"I'm sorry that emotions had to interfere at this point of the mission, but we must put them aside and continue on with out mission," Neji stated, "but I'm sorry if I'm sounding like an ass right now. This is my duty as a captain to tell you both to co-operate."

"We understand, Neji. You're still our good pal," Naruto patted him on the back, "don't worry, you're doing a great job as being our captain!"

"Alright then, as duty of a captain, let's commence on our mission. We must continue towards the Land of Lightning. Let's go!"

They trudged through the rubble and walked up the stairs. Sakura was feeling a bit discombobulated after the scene she just witnessed. She didn't know how to comprehend it.

_Am I happy and relieved that he killed the both of them? Or am I afraid of the fact that he killed them in such a brutal and violent fashion?_ _Did he change in a good or bad way? Did he even change at all?_ she had so many questions racing through her mind.

"OK, we'll report what we saw to the other squad members and to Tsunade-sama once we come back to Konoha," Neji interrupted Sakura's thoughts.

They continued climbing up the stairs.

* * *

_'ACHOO' _

Sasuke pulled down his mask and let out a sneeze as he continued towards the Land of Lightning.

_Hmm is someone thinking of me? Is it one of the ANBU members? They probably found the corpse of Orochimaru and Kabuto in the lair. Meh, those fuckers deserved it anyway after what they put me through…_

_

* * *

_

**A/N:** Sorry if Sasuke seems a little OOC in this, but I thought it would be good for this chapter.

Oh yeah, I got Kyoshi and Koto's name from a website that listed common Japanese names (I'm not Japanese myself, so I had to do it).

Kyoshi means "quiet" (ironic because he seems to talk a lot lol), and Koto means harp. Notice how their names deal with melody and sound? Well since they reside in the Sound Village, I gave them names dealing with melody and sound.

* * *


	12. Reverie Confessions

**A/N:** Again, thank you to some of you who commented on the last chapter! Yes, Sasuke actually does have a heart but he still has his over-inflated ego and pride.

In fact, this chapter will revolve more on the thoughts of Sakura and Sasuke. This is an alert for SasuxSaku fans!

**Warning:** This chapter contains some ch. 273 and 274 manga spoilers!

* * *

**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**

"Sasuke executed Orochimaru and Kabuto," Neji stated to Kiba. He just finished reporting the observations Sakura, Naruto, and he gathered at the lair to the other squad members.

"Wow, I'm actually glad he did! Do you know where he headed off to?" Kiba asked.

"We have no idea where he is right now, but we have to continue our journey to the Land of Lightning," he replied. Kiba nodded in agreement.

As Neji observed his surroundings, he saw that more villagers appeared from their homes. They were being comforted by his squad, including Sakura and Naruto. Kiba was in the process of entertaining a child who had a pet dog alongside him. Apparently Kiba was excited at the fact that the boy was dog-lover just like him. Shino used his bug summons to help find more villagers in their homes, in case they were too frightened to see strangers approach them.

"Alright everyone, I'm going to appoint some of you to remain here with the villagers," Neji looked around to see who would be suitable to do this task, "hunter-nins, is it ok if some of you stay here?"

"Yes captain," one of the hunter-nins replied, along with 4 others.

"Arigato. The rest of us will head off to the Land of Lightning. In the meantime, please dispatch Tsunade-sama about the findings here at the Sound Village and continue taking care of the villagers until help arrives," Neji cleared his throat, "let us assemble and commence our mission!"

Sakura and Naruto said their goodbye's to the villagers. They adjusted their equipment and quickly assembled with their squadmates.

_Land of Lightning, here we come…_Sakura thought to herself.

_Sasuke-kun, when am I ever going to see you again?_

Sakura bit her lip behind her mask and continued in her reverie of Sasuke. The squad trudged to the village gates and continued towards their destination.

* * *

_I'm still far from the Land of Lightning border. It's going to take about another day to arrive there…_Sasuke thought to himself. He was breathing heavily and sweating profusely but continued pursuing his destination. 

_It's so fucking hot out here! I am getting exhausted and hungry. I haven't eaten for 2 days. I'll have to camp-out somewhere later on. Too bad I'm not properly equipped! Shit…_

_

* * *

_Approximately 7 hours passed and the squad was filled with fatigue. Sakura was continually trying to fan herself with her hand, trying to fight off the sweatdrops forming on her forehead behind her mask. The small air passages on her mask weren't enough to keep her porcelain face cool enough. The summer heat was taking its toll on her and her other comrades.

"Captain, is it ok if we can rest for a little bit? It's so damn hot out here, dattebayo!" Naruto whined though his mask.

"Alright, lieutenant. I'm feeling exhausted myself," Neji replied, "everyone, let us stop here for now and get some rest."

_Thank God…_Sakura thought to herself. She proceeded to abruptly set down her equipment. Kiba and Shino proceeded to do the same right next to her.

She observed their surroundings and saw that they were at a forest that was very close to a secluded grassfield. It reminded her very much of the outskirts of Konoha. She would kill to be resting on her own bed in her apartment and to eat a meal that she cooked herself. Too bad they were far away from home. She sprawled on the grass, took off her mask, and looked up at the azure sky. Her emerald eyes sparkled from the sunrays reflecting in them.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" she was interrupted from her daze by Naruto's call. Sakura noted how from time to time she gets surprised at how much his voice has changed. It became a pitch lower, compared to the annoying and loud tone he used to have. He decided to sprawl on the grass right next to her.

"Hey Naruto."

"We're almost reaching the Land of Lightning border! Are you prepared to kick Itachi's ass?"

"Hah, I guess I am. I just have some thoughts in my mind at the moment…" Sakura replied as she continued to look at the sky, mimicking Shikamaru's habit of cloud-watching.

"Ah I know what you mean. What we discovered at the Sound Village was shocking. It still boggles me. Sasuke had the guts and power to kill Orochimaru and Kabuto. I wonder what sparked him to do this…" Naruto looked up at the sky with her.

"You read my mind, Naruto," Sakura said to him, "anyway, about Itachi, I hope we will once and for all take him down!"

"Yes! We can't let him escape like before," Naruto's azure eyes widened, "neh Sakura-chan, I just remembered something!"

"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura turned her face towards Naruto.

"When we encountered Itachi during the Akatsuki battle, I remember Kaka-sensei asking him how much of his vision has reduced due to the excessive use of his Tsukuyomi and Amatersu genjutsus, dattebayo." Naruto plastered a foxy grin on his face.

"Hey….you're right, Naruto! I'm starting to remember that time. Using those powerful genjutsus does consume vast amounts of your chakra, from the medical information I remember learning. If he continues to use them, he will eventually become blind!"

"Sakura-chan, we might have an overall advantage over him when we fight! Yosh!" he shot his fist into the air, as if he was going to hit one of the fluffy clouds in the sky.

Sakura smiled. _I'm hoping we will. Sasuke-kun will finally rest easy after we defeat Itachi for him…_

_

* * *

Must…take…a…break…_Sasuke was panting hard. He decided to pull down his mask and look at his surroundings. He was in a field clearing with minimal amount of trees. _I guess this place would do. _

"Fuck, what am I going to eat?" Sasuke yelled to himself. He continued to look around to see if there were some bushes where he can pluck some berries from or trees with fruits dangling from them. Luckily, he found some bushes with red berries.

He proceeded to walk towards the bushes and plucked some berries for his light meal. _It's not much, but at least I have food to eat…_

He sat down under one of the trees and leaned back on the trunk. He gazed at the sky while munching on some of the berries. He drifted into oblivion as he observed the floating clouds.

_Itachi, I am going to kill your ass. I know my strength has finally surpassed yours! Hah, I'm no longer your "weak and foolish little brother." Once I have my hand buried in your chest, you will see how much the tables have turned. I will finally avenge our once powerful clan and the deaths of our beloved otousan and okaasan. Burn in hell where you belong!_

Sasuke evilly smirked and bit hard into one of the berries. The juice oozed out from his forceful bite and leaked down the side of his mouth. He wiped it off with his left hand.

* * *

Sakura and Naruto continued gazing at the clouds. Both of them were quiet and recollecting on their own thoughts and memories. 

_Battling the Akatsuki was a struggle, but we finally defeated them. I had a depth-defying battle with Sasori. Taking that katana for Chiyo-baa sama was such a feat for me. I still greatly thank Chiyo-baa sama for saving my life. Well, you are within me anyway since you used that tensei (life-giving) ninjutsu on me._ Sakura lightly touched her lower left torso. She received a scar from that katana wound.

_I definitely progressed compared to my helpless 12-year-old form. Sasuke-kun, you best be proud of me now. You and Naruto no longer have to protect me. I am now the one to protect you two after all the shit both of you went through just for me. I definitely owe both of you…_She turned her head to look at Naruto, who was now lightly snoozing. _Sasuke-kun, please come back to us soon. We must have a Team 7 formation once again. I truly miss it! I hope you won't become a missing nin or an S-ranked criminal just like your brother… _

_You baka! You think he would be that idiotic to follow his brother's footsteps?_ Inner Sakura interjected.

_OK so maybe he won't! _Sakura's eyelids grew heavy and she drifted into sleep as well.

"Hina-chan…" Sakura opened her eyes and heard Naruto talking in his sleep. "…marry…me?..."

_Awwwww that is so adorable!_ She proceeded to close her eyes and drift off into dreaming of her own beloved.

* * *

As he finished eating his berries, Sasuke sneezed._ 'ACHOO!' Who the hell keeps thinking about me? I keep getting these damn sneezing fits lately! So irritating…_

He lied under the shade of the tree and positioned his arms behind his head. He closed his eyes and drifted off into his thoughts once again.

_What will happen after I kill my brother? Should I go back to Konoha? No, what if the Hokage sentences me to be executed because of my betrayal of that village? _

Sasuke snapped his eyes open, looking up at the sky once again.

_Wait, but I promised myself that I will resurrect my clan. Will the Hokage let me do this at Konoha? Since I promised myself this, that means I have to have a female to help me reproduce heirs. Who should I choose? Why the hell am I thinking about this? I don't even know how to love the opposite sex!_

His handsome face cringed a little.

_I remember okaasan told me a little bit about love between a male and female. I could have learned how to do this if that motherfucker didn't massacre the whole clan. Besides, the only ones I truly loved were my family and…_

A soft expression formed on his face.

_Team 7._

_I truly care about them as if they are my second family. I just don't know how I'll react if I ever see them once again. I just can't automatically drop my stoic attitude for those idiots, as if they really hit a core in my heart. They will truly see how weak I am and I don't want any of them to see that! That's only for pathetic people. I can't stoop that low!_

_Sasuke, you fucking idiot, why do you act as if dropping your pride for once will hurt your ego? _A "voice" in Sasuke's head sprouted out of nowhere.

_Go away! I don't need your input! _

_You know, with that kind of attitude, you won't be able to find that special female who would be willing reproduce heirs for you. _

Sasuke was fighting with the other "voice" in his thoughts.

_Pfft whatever. Besides, there is that dumb group of females who follow me around in Konoha, including the ones from the Sound Village. I still don't get why they do that, but I was nice to some of them since I felt they would get out of my hair if I did this. Some were as annoying as Sakura…_

_Ahhh yes, Sakura Haruno. Don't you ever wonder how she is like now? She's probably beautiful by now. Hell, all 3 of you are about 17-years-old now! I'm sure Sakura and Naruto have grown up tremendously! _The "voice" retorted.

_I know Naruto has improved strength-wise. He is quick to become strong, from the last time I fought with him at the waterfalls approximately 5 years ago. I still don't fucking get how a drop-out dobe like him can become stronger than me! Plus, that fox-like chakra he has is an unsolved mystery to me. My brother was even after his power! And to think, I thought Naruto would be a hindrance to me but he proved me wrong. I see him as an equal and a best friend of mine. I have to admit that…_

Sasuke shifted his position on the grass.

_As for Sakura, she is weak and annoying. I do care for her, but she needs more motivation to become stronger and protect her ownself. She can't always depend on me and Naruto to do all the fighting for her. After all, she is a ninja. Nins are supposed to be skillfull in fighting and such. All she ever did was constantly say "Sasuke-kun" and ask me out to dates. OK, I have to admit, she did sound rather cute when doing that, but it got irritating._

_Don't be such an ass! What if she is stronger now? Boy would you feel like a dobe once you find out how much she has improved. She could probably kick your ass by now! _The "voice" made a rebuttal.

_Who knows, maybe she has improved a lot. I would kill to see that!_

_You know once you see how much she has improved, you will develop feelings for her!_

His thoughts started to have an internal argument once again.

_Ch! Feelings my ass! _

_You know you would choose her to become your wife. How can you resist that beautiful face, huge emerald eyes, roseatte hair, slim body, wide forehead, intelligence, perfect chakra control, and sweet personality? You would want your Uchiha children to bestow those qualities, combined with the power of your Sharingan. _

Sasuke gritted his teeth and growled to himself.

_What the hell makes you say that? She's only my former teammate and comrade. _

…_who seems unusally beautiful and kind-hearted for her own good…_

_Shut up!_

_You know you miss the way she holds you when you're bleeding your guts out; the warmth of her arms around your body, the soft touch of your head against her chest, the floral scent of her hair tickling your face, her soothing voice pleading you not to let your life slip away. You miss how she proclaims her love for you, just like what she did before you left.  
_

_Stop it!_

_When she cries, your heart twinges at the sight. When she is helpless, you can't help but feel the need to jump in front of her and defend her. When you see she's injured, you promise to break every bone of the fucker who did that to her. When she smiles, you feel butterflies in your stomach. _

_What the hell!_

Sasuke was clutching the sides of his head and vigorously shaking it.

_Admit it, you miss her. You've missed her for about 4.5 years now. You're just a little chickenshit who won't admit it!_

_I do not miss her, dumbass!_

_Then why do you have dreams about her? Why do you get reminded of her whenever you see Cherry Blossoms falling on to your palm? Why do you compare every girl you encounter to her? Why do you keep saying in your head that "Sakura is annoying?" Those 3 words seem to get stuck in your daily vocabulary now!_

_Ch! _

_You wonder how her appearance looks like now. You wonder if she grew taller, grew womanly curves, and became more gorgeous than ever! _

_Arrrrrrrrgh…_

_You know you want to hold her in your arms, and express to her how much you miss her. _

_What…_

_You know you want to be on top of her, feeling her curvy body against yours._

_The…_

_You know you want to kiss her passionately and whisper in her ear how beautiful she truly is._

_Fucking…_

_You know you want to make love to her, feeling her wet warmth, and softly moaning your name with every thrust._

_Hell…_

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and immediately sat up. He was hitting his head against the tree trunk, exclaiming every profanity word that exists. He kept pounding his head until he felt blood trickle down on the right side of his forehead.

He buried his face into his hands. As he lifted his head, some tears were trickling down his cheeks.

_Fucking Sakura! Why the hell do you do this to me?_

* * *

'_ACHOO!'_ Sakura's sneeze woke her up out of her nap. 

"Bless you, Sakura-chan!" Kiba and Naruto responded in unison. She saw that the guys were wide awake and were right next to her.

"Are you coming down with a cold?" Naruto asked.

"No, I have a sense someone is thinking about me…again…" she was rubbing her eyes as she yawned.

"Damn girl! Who is this person who keeps thinking about you? You've been sneezing a lot lately, like the last time I walked you home to your apartment! You probably have a stalker haha!" Kiba exclaimed as he nudged her right arm.

"Haha shut up, Kiba-san. I do want to know who it is. The sneezing fits get so irritating!" she replied as she sat up on the grass.

_Sasuke-kun, is it…you?_

"Neji told me that we have about a day left until we reach the Land of Lightning borders," Kiba stated to the both of them, "so I guess we'll remain here until morning. So that means, I get to talk about Nozomi-chan with all of you!"

"Oh great…" Sakura replied sarcastically. _Not another "Nozomi-chan and Yasashiku-kun" conversation…_

"Hey! What's with the tone, Sakura-chan?" Kiba scowled at her. Naruto giggled.

"What are you talking about? Go on with your conversation!" Sakura plastered on a fake smile on her face. _I seriously think Kiba-san is obssessed with her…_

_

* * *

Stop thinking about this bullshit, Sasuke! You have another day until you get to beat the shit out of your brother! You don't need a hindrance to get in your way!_

Sasuke touched the bleeding spot from his head and looked at the crimson stain on his fingers. He vigorously wiped the tears from his onyx orbs with his left hand.

_Damn you, Sakura, damn you!_

_

* * *

_Another sneeze escaped from Sakura. The guys looked at her with mischievous smiles.

_Not again…_

_

* * *

_**A/N:**_'GASP'_ Sasuke had an emo moment! Let's see how the next chapter will be like!

Comments would be greatly appreciated!

* * *


	13. The Legendary Battle: Part I

**A/N: **Thank you for the Ch. 12 comments, everyone!

Sorry I changed the rating on such short notice. I did this because I realized this fic is actually M (mature) material (due to profanity, sexuality, and violence). If any of you feel too uncomfortable to go on and read this because of the M rating, it is fine with me because this fic will become more explicit as more chapters get added. _You all have been warned! _

This chapter will be the beginning of an action-packed battle. Yosh!

* * *

**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**

Sasuke awoke from the 3 hour nap he took. He saw that the sun started to set and nightfall was approaching soon. He slowly rose his head up, propping his elbows on the grass.

_Ouch! My head still hurts from pounding it on the tree trunk…_

He lightly touched the small open wound on the right side of his forehead. There were some streaks of dried up crimson stains left over and small splinters impaled on his cheek. _I need to clean up this stupid wound…_

He proceeded to stand up and look for a water to clean up his wound. About 10 minutes later, he found a river containing clear and sparkly water. He knelt down next to the flower river and gathered some of the water to splash it on his face. The refreshing coolness of the water brought him into reverie once again.

_I had a dream about…her. Again. I laid my head on her warm thighs and she was caressing my face with her soft hands. Her voice sounded so soothing and melodic as she was singing me to sleep…_

_Why did I have to dream about Sakura again? I hate myself…_

He buried his face in his hands once again.

_This…is…so…torturing…_

He lifted his head from his hands, took out a gauze and bandage, and proceeded to aide the wound on his head.

* * *

"Oh hell yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. He had his face buried in the newest copy of Icha Icha Tactics that he brought with him in his backpack. He was in awe with every page he read. 

"Not only is Ero-sennin a great sensei, but he has superb writing and drawing skills, dattebayo!" Naruto displayed his trademark foxy grin once again. His mind was clouded with perverted thoughts and what he could possibly "try" on his beautiful girlfriend.

He was interrupted from his consumption of the book by Sakura's fist hitting him hard on the head.

"Why do you read such a perverted book? I don't see why you and Kaka-sensei like that book so much! How can you call it superb? I heard it's full of raunchy content! You're not even 18-years-old yet, Naruto! So how can you be reading that?"

"Sakura-chan, Ero-sennin gave me this book. He hooks me up with free books, right after he finishes publishing them! I'm even more special than Kaka-sensei, who has to wait until the Icha Icha series comes to the store's shelves haha!"

"Haha Naruto! You are so perverted!" Kiba exclaimed. Shino just nodded in agreement.

"Tsunade-sama keeps telling me how much of a pervert Jiraiya-sama can be! That's so disgusting!" Sakura replied in disgust.

"Oh Sakura-chan, you are such an innocent girl," Naruto was patting her shoulder. Next thing he knew, another lump formed on his head.

"OUCH! Gomen, Sakura-chan! I shouldn't make you angry anymore; your punches are super strong like Granny Tsunade's! I think I'm losing more braincells, dattebayo!" He was rubbing his swollen head.

"Then stop being so perverted like Jiraiya-sama!" Sakura scoffed.

* * *

_Fuck this! I'm going to proceed on going to the Land of Lightning! I'm wasting my time here!_

Sasuke stood up and gathered his belongings. He continued to go towards his destination.

* * *

"Wake up everyone! Let's get going!" Sakura, Naruto, Kiba, and Shino were awakened by Neji's command to the squad. 

After many hours of conversations with each other the day before, they fell asleep at around midnight. They woke up at about 7 in the morning.

_Oh crap! Today is the day we finally arrive at the Land of Lightning! Itachi better be there!_ Sakura thought to herself as she started to pack up her belongings.

"Yosh! It's time, everybody!" Naruto exclaimed as he shot his fist into the air, "we are going to kick major ass!"

The squad assembled and proceeded to leave towards the Land of Lightning border.

* * *

"We're finally here," Neji proclaimed to the squad. It took them about 6 hours to reach the unfamiliar land territory. They were now in close proximity to the gate of the Hidden Cloud Village. 

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…_Sakura thought to herself as she started to tremble a little.

The squad made their way towards the village's gate, where the Jounins were seen standing in front of the massive doors.

Suddenly, the ground started to rattle underneath all of them. The Jounins frantically tried to open the massive gate doors to check if the rattling erupted from the village. One of them ran towards the ANBU squad, who were feeling suspicious of the earth's movement.

"Captain Hyuuga-san, Lieutenant Uzumaki-san, ANBU squad! You have all finally arrived! We will report to the Raikage that you are all here," he said while the trembling of the earth was still occurring. All of them tried their best to keep themselves balanced.

_What the hell is going on here?_

_What the fuck?_

_W-w-what is going on?_

Neji, Naruto, and Sakura were trying to figure out why this was occurring at the moment.

"Hai! Why is the ground trembling like this? Is there an earthquake occurring?" Neji asked as he tried his best to stay balanced.

"I don't know, Captain! We never have earthquakes here! This is highly unusual! The other Jounins are currently checking the status of the village and reporting it to the Raikage!"

_Don't tell me…this…_Sakura's eyes started to widen behind her mask as she went into a daze. She kept wobbling throughout the shifting of the earth, but her companions managed to help her back up.

The massive gate doors remained open and some of the Jounins frantically ran back towards the ANBU squad with terror plastered on their face.

"It is chaotic in there! The village has smoke hovering in the air! Villagers are screaming and running around out of fear!" one of the Jounins huffed out in between heavy breathing.

"ANBU squad, let's go inside the village!" Neji commanded them and they all ran inside, along with the other Jounins.

Sakura's heart started to beat faster and faster with every step of her swift pace. Thousands of possibilities on why this was occurring flooded her mind. She felt like she was going to faint. She breathed very hard as she was running with her comrades.

_Could it really be? Could…it…really…be?_

Naruto had a serious scowling expression behind his mask. He hoping that Itachi wasn't hurting any of the villagers. He started to silently growl through his gritted teeth.

_I want to find that fucker and kill him already! _

The ANBU squad ran past frantic villagers screaming and crying. They were aimlessly running around to try and find a place to hide. They were totally oblivious to what was happening, but they knew something dangerous was occurring.

"Ah!" Neji accidently bumps into one of the villagers.

"Gomenesai, sir!"

"Gomen! There is a snake over there in the rural side!" the man pointed Neji towards the west side of the village, where an image of a snake could be seen tainting the blue skies, "look at its massive size! It's going to destroy our village! I cannot stay here! I must flee!" The man frantically ran off to another direction, passing by Naruto and Sakura.

"Oh…my…God…" Neji exasperated.

Sakura gasped and Naruto growled. _What the hell is going on? _both of them thought at the same time.

They all ran towards the direction where the snake was.

* * *

"...After many years, Itachi, I…will…finally…," Sasuke raised his katana up with his right arm. He scowled at his older brother from the top of the massive snake, "…KILL YOU!" 

The humongous violet-scaled snake had ominous onyx eyes just like his owner. His mouth held a large katana, clasped tightly by its venomous fangs.

Itachi looked up to only see a blackish-purple blur and the threatening voice of his younger brother. Apparently, his vision has decreased dramatically after using the Amateresu on the Jounins of the village a few days ago. He squinted to get a better view, but it didn't help adjust his eye sight at all. The red wheels with black commas were furiously whirling in his pupils. _How the hell did he learn how to use Orochimaru's snake summon?_

"My foolish little brother, it's a surprise to reunite with you once again," Itachi gave a small smirk to his brother.

"Cut the crap, Itachi! Let us commence our battle!" Sasuke harshly demanded. His snake summon hissed loudly.

"S-S-S-S-S-Sasuke-s-s-sama, I see that you have executed Orochimaru-s-s-sama. That was a great feat you committed," his snake, Manda, commented to his master.

Below him, Itachi tried his best not to show the cringing on his face after he heard what the giant snake had said. _Did my foolish brother really get stronger?_

"…since you have freed me from that asshole's hold, I will do my best to fight for you, S-S-S-S-Sasuke-s-s-sama," Manda continued to hiss on.

"Arigato Manda. I definitely need your help this time since my cursed seal subsided once I executed Orochimaru," Sasuke kneeled down on his left knee and patted Manda's head.

"Aa. I see you are worthy enough to fight now, little brother," Itachi's Sharingan whirled faster as he scowled at his younger brother up above, "let's see if my words have really affected your foolish and weak mind."

"…Let's see how much stronger you have become, Sasuke…" Itachi chanted out.

* * *

"DIEEEEEEEE, FUCKER!" Itachi and Sasuke turned towards the direction where the harsh battle-cry came from. They saw a golden-haired ANBU member charging towards Itachi, with his katana gripped in his hands. 

_N-N-Naruto_? Sasuke's mouth started to gape open.

"NARUTO! NOOO!" Sakura frantically screamed. She looked at the snake and tried her best to look at the owner that was standing on top of its head.

_I heard Orochimaru was a snake summoner from Tsunade-sama. If he and Kabuto are now deceased, then that means…_

Her emerald orbs widened in horror behind her mask to the conclusion she made.

"NOOOOOO!" a blood-curdling scream erupted from Sakura as she ran towards the massive snake. She had an agonizing expression behind her mask.

_SASUKE-KUN! PLEASE DON'T TURN EVIL BEFORE MY EYES!_ her thoughts screamed out. With every step she took, she felt her heartbeat pound faster and faster against her frail chest. Tears started to water down her vision through the mask.

* * *

At the same time, Naruto was having a sparring duel with Itachi. He dodged every swing Naruto try to put on him, even with the minimal eye sight he had. Itachi managed to kick Naruto and sent him flying to the air. He landed on the ground forcefully, but managed to get up and continued to fight Itachi.

* * *

"SAKURA! NARUTO! STOP!" Neji and Kiba frantically yelled. They decided that they shouldn't just stand there and watch the whole scene. The ANBU squad and Jounins ran towards the battleground.

* * *

_S-S-Sakura?_ Sasuke looked down to see a pastel pink-haired ANBU member run towards the massive snake. His onyx orbs started to widen and his mouth gaped even more as he saw her come closer and closer. 

"S-S-Sak—" Sasuke got cut off with the swift move of Manda's head going lower, proceeding to hit Sakura with strong force using the butt of the katana. She was sent flying into the air, hitting one of the nearby tree trunks.

_Sa_..._su_..._ke_...

Sakura's tears flowed freely from her glazed emerald eyes. Her body slumped lower to the grassy ground.

..._kun_...

Her eyelids closed and she fell unconscious.

"SAKURA!" Ten-Ten screamed as she ran towards her friend and cradled her in her arms, telling her to wake up from her unconsciousness.

* * *

"MANDA! WHY THE—" Sasuke yelled to him. He suddenly stopped himself when his thoughts consumed his mind. 

_Remember what you told yourself, Sasuke. You're not going to show your "weak" side in front of them, especially when you're in the presence of Itachi._

Sasuke gritted his teeth, but proceeded to continue on with the battle.

* * *

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Kiba yelled as he rushed to the aid of Sakura and then ran towards Manda, with a katana gripped in his hands. 

Once Manda saw Kiba charging towards them, he proceeded to hit him with the butt of the katana and it sent him flying as well. He landed hard on the grassy field. Like Sakura's fate, he was knocked unconscious.

* * *

"S-S-S-S-Sasuke-s-s-sama, I'm getting rid of excess opponents for you so you can solely fight your brother," Manda hissed. 

_Sasuke, you fucking idiot! Remember, you do care for Sakura and Naruto! Why the hell are you doing this? Snap the fuck out of it!_ Sasuke's inner voice reappeared. It was trying its best to scream its reasoning into him.

He proceeded to forcefully push aside the inner voice, and concentrated on his original thoughts.

"Manda, continue pushing aside the other nins that are charging towards us. Don't kill them because they are not my true opponents," Manda did what his master told him to do and proceeded to hit the charging Jounins and ANBU members with the butt of the katana. Other Jounins were frantically trying to make ninjutsu seals, but Manda was quick enough to hit them with the butt of the katana. They were sent flying like rag dolls being tossed away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Neji came to the aid of Naruto. They were both fighting Itachi. 

"YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!" Naruto charged towards him once again with his katana.

"NARUTO! NO!" Neji yelled at him for wrecklessly charging at Itachi. He ran after him.

_Dammit! Remember to close your eyes when you run towards Itachi! He'll put you in that damn genjutsu once again!_ Naruto thought as he closed his eyes when his katana made contact with Itachi's kunai. _Don't look into eyes! Don't look into his eyes!_

"Naruto-kun, you just can't learn how to stop huh? I don't want to fight you. My opponent is my little brother, Sasuke," Itachi stated matter-of-factly as he was blocking the sharp katana with his kunai.

"SASUKE-TEME!" _So that's the one on top of Manda. How can I be so oblivious? I was concentrating too much on killing Itachi for him that I didn't even notice he's the one on top of that huge snake! _Naruto unconsciously blinked his eyes open in thought of his former best friend.

"TSUKUYOMI!" Itachi yelled as crimson orbs met with azure orbs.

"NARUTO!" Neji pulled out his katana and proceeded to make a swing at Itachi.

"IT ENDS NOW, ITACHI!" Neji proclaimed as he swung his katana to the right side of his neck

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you all liked that action sequence! This battle is not over yet! Part II will be coming up next! 

Oh yes, if any of you are wondering why the "_Sa_..._su_..._ke_..._kun_..." part sounds extremely familiar, it is reminiscent of Episode 110, when Sasuke knocks out Sakura after she confesses her love for him and was going to scream if he really does leave. After he hits her, her thoughts say, "_Sa_..._su_..._ke_..._kun_..." I thought that would be a nice addition to this fic!

Some of you might be thinking "Why is Manda glad that Sasuke killed Orochimaru? Wasn't he his bitch?" .. From what I remember during the battle between Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru with their summonings, Manda seemed extremely irritated by Orochimaru and acted a little rude towards him. I got the idea that Manda wasn't very respectful of Orochimaru. In that sense, I made him more respectful towards Sasuke. This also enhances his reason to fight for Sasuke more during this battle, especially since his curse seal dissapated after the death of Orochimaru. Plus, Manda hissing makes him sound more cooler (in my opinion) LOL.

...and yes, Itachi can still kick ass even though his vision is decreasing. If you've read the recent manga chapters, then you would know!

* * *


	14. The Legendary Battle: Part II

**A/N: **Wow! I finally updated this fic after how many months! I'm sooo sorry that it took such a long time!

College has been quite a bitch lately and I've been experiencing writer's block. After conquering my writer's block, I_ finally _came up with this looooong and suspenseful chapter. The usual violence and profanity galore will appear in this chapter lol.

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!

* * *

**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**o**x**

As Neji swung his katana towards Itachi's neck, he was suddenly hit with the force of Itachi's right foot. He kicked him hard in the stomach and was shot flying through the air.

_Damn!_ Neji cursed himself for not being successful at decapitating Itachi's head. He landed with a loud thud on the grass.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was caught in Itachi's Tsukuyomi. He found himself trapped in a crimson and black world, tied to a wooden post. 

_Kuso! I can't believe I got caught in this!_ Naruto cringed to himself as his expression grew mortified once he saw several katana being lauched at him. He was getting repeatedly stabbed on his torso, arms, and legs. He screamed and writhed in pain, feeling he could die at any minute. "72 hours of torture and pain, Naruto-kun," he heard Itachi's eerie voice echo within the morbid realm he was in.

_Ouch! No! No! Please stop! Ow! NOOO! AHHHHHHH!_ Naruto screamed his head off and felt warm tears descend from his eyes. _Get me the fuck out of this place!_ _I beg of you!_

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto let out a blood-curdling scream from his physical self placed in reality. He collapsed hard on to the grass while Itachi stood over him with a smirk over his face, as he slowly uncoiled the spiraling Mangekyou Sharingan back into normal mode.

"Naruto-kun, that will teach you not to get in the way of my objective. I know it sounds ironic since you were my target in the past because of your jinchuuriki, but that is now in the past," he slowly walked away from his unconscious form. He was walking towards his brother and the giant snake.

Neji ran towards Naruto's mentally-bruised body. _I can't fucking believe I didn't obliterate Itachi!_ Neji pounded the ground and checked to see if he was in serious condition.

"Naruto! Wake up!" he was literally shaking his body with strong arms, but Naruto just cringed his face even more. Tears started to leak down his whiskered cheeks.

Neji slowly got up with anger on his face. He quickly did some hand seals while running towards Itachi, activating his Byaakugan.

"Hakkeshou Rokujuu Yonshou!" he yelled as he started to fluidly launch his arms to hit Itachi's tenketsu points. He immediately reacted and dodged the arms that were launching at him

_Let me get in some hits at least!_ Neji thought to himself as he continued to pinpoint any tenketsu spots with his graceful but powerful movements. Itachi dodged his attempts with ease until…

"GAH!" he felt some blood come out of his mouth. Neji was successful on hitting 4 of his tenketsu points. Itachi felt the internal pressure of chakra blockage and became infuriated. He used his skillful taijutsu skills in order to dodge and defend himself.

"I am not here to fight all of you. Leave me be and let me fight my brother, or else you will all meet an untimely end," Itachi stated with an eerily calm voice as he continued to dodge Neji's attempt of connecting hits. Neji growled at hearing this.

"I am not letting you go that easily!" he retorted back.

Itachi just glared at him. _I should save my Mangekyou Sharingan powers until I finally get to battle my brother because I'll probably become blind if I use it on this ANBU idiot._

Without warning, even though Neji hit some of his tenketsu points to block out chakra flow through out his body, Itachi kicked his gut once again. This sent Neji to fly back and Itachi managed to throw several kunais at him. Neji managed to dodge them, except for 3, which hit his right torso, right thigh, and left arm.

"CRAP!" Neji yelled as his legs gave way, clutching the kunai imbedded in his right torso. The bulgy veins beside his eyes started to reside and he gritted his teeth in disappointment. Itachi immediately turned around and continued to walk towards his intended battle opponent.

* * *

Naruto immediately opened his eyelids and saw he was back in the same battleground he was in earlier. He felt the grass prickling the partial skin that was exposed by the ANBU outfit. He looked at his surroundings and saw some injured comrades. Naruto wiped the tears off his whiskered cheeks with the back of his right hand and proceeded to slowly sit up, trying to recover from the genjutsu that somehow mentally-scarred him. 

_I'm not going to let this genjutsu fuck up my mind during a time like this!_ Naruto thought with much determination. He managed to wobbly stand on his two feet. Determined to recover from the genjutsu completely in order to fight again, he took out his kunai and stabbed himself on the left hand. It clearly woke him up even more. Because of the Kyuubi sealed within him, his left hand slowly started to heal itself of the wound he inflicted upon himself. _That should wake me up for the time being!_ He thought as he looked down at his left hand. _It's a good thing a wound like this won't be as harmful to me thanks to the Kyuubi. _He smirked to himself.

"Forget Itachi, I'm going after Sasuke!" Naruto told himself. _If Sasuke wants to play like that, then I will too!_

Naruto took off his glove and proceeded to bite his right thumb until a droplet of blood came out. He did some quick handseals and exclaimed, "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

The earth started to vibrate and a mist of smoke started to swirl from underneath him.

* * *

While Tenten was tending to Sakura, who was still unconscious, noticed the swirl of smoke forming around Naruto from afar. 

_What is Naruto trying to do?_ She wondered with curiosity as the earth trembled below her.

Next thing she knew, a massive auburn-colored frog clasping a katana in its mouth formed under the golden-haired shinobi. Her hazel-eyes widened with amazement. _So that's how his summon looks like? Wow…_

Then she looked down at Sakura's unconscious form.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan, but I have to attend the battlefield and help them out. I hope you'll be OK here," Tenten said to her even though it was unlikely that she was listening. She gently laid her body down and stood up, while preparing various weapon scrolls she planned to use on the powerful opponents.

* * *

_Naruto called on his summon too? What the fuck! I didn't come here to battle him or the others! _

Sasuke was snapped out of his reverie when his brother called up to him from below.

"Sasuke, are you ready to fight?" Itachi asked him, "can you prove that you are capable of battling with me? This will be the ultimate measure of power and strength for the both of us. I have been waiting for this time to come. Let's see who will become ultimate victor of this fight."

Sasuke cringed at every word his older brother proclaimed. "Do you fucking think I'm still weak or something?" he yelled as he drew up his katana. His eyes transformed from cold onyx orbs to a sea of crimson with swirling black commas. It slowly evolved to an eccentric wheel pattern with various lines. He smirked once he fully activated his special bloodline

"You're not the only one with the Mangekyou Sharingan, Itachi."

* * *

_I…got to…wake up…now! I must…fight!_ Sakura slowly fluttered her eyelids open and slowly got up. She felt a little sore but was still in good condition to join the chaotic battle. She looked around and saw bodies scattered everywhere. Apparently Manda knocked out a lot of the ANBUS and Jounins with the butt of his katana. Some were unfortunate enough to get dismembered by the sharp end of his katana. 

Her eyes widened with horror when she saw Naruto standing on top of his summon, Gamabunta.

_Oh no! Naruto called upon his summon as well? This is getting chaotic minute by minute! _

She continued to observe the battleground and spotted her captain, who was on his knees and bleeding from various kunai wounds.

"Neji!" Sakura screamed out as she ran towards him. As she came closer to her, she kneeled down, took off her gloves, and proceeded to gather chakra in her palms.

"No Sakura! You don't have to heal me right now! My wounds are only minor. Just save your chakra for this battle!" Neji commanded to her.

"But captain…"

"Go Sakura! Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Go out there and execute Itachi!"

"Hai captain," she ceased the chakra flow to her hands and proceeded to run towards the epicenter of the battleground.

* * *

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled from atop of Gamabunta. 

"Naruto, stay out of this! This fight is only between Itachi and I!" Sasuke yelled back.

"Oi Naruto-sama! What is going on here?" Gamabunta gently laid his katana on the ground and asked his master.

"Gamabunta, this battle will go down in shinobi history!"

The giant frog was completely oblivious to what Naruto said, until he looked straight ahead and saw his slithering rival, Manda. Gamabunta let out a loud sigh and croak.

"This is like a dejavu of five years ago, when Jiraiya-sama summoned me to battle with Orochimaru!" the giant frog exclaimed.

"Ah, Gamabunta, I s-s-see we meet again," Manda greeted him with a sarcastic tone.

* * *

As Itachi tried to observe his surroundings (which was completely blurred), he felt a presence behind him. 

_Ch, pesky ANBU weaklings…_

Tenten twirled her scrolls into the sky and made a few quick hand seals. Various weapons started to rain out of them and she grabbed some in her hands. She ran towards Itachi with a scythe and large shuriken in both of her hands. She had a look of determination behind her mask.

She threw the large shuriken and it hit him…or so she thought. His figure transformed into a Kawarimi no Jutsu.

_Damn!_ she thought to herself. But just then she immediately felt a presence behind her and felt a piercing pain shot through her back.

"AHHHHHHH!" Tenten let out a blood-curdling scream.

"You shouldn't leave all of these detestable weapons lying around the grass unintended," Itachi whispered into her ear with a smirk on his face. She slowly turned around to face him and gritted her teeth behind her mask. She then collapsed on to the ground with a katana shallowly impaled into her back. Blood started to slowly stain the white vestige she was wearing.

* * *

"TENTEN!" Sakura screamed to her comrade as she came closer to where her old teammates and Itachi were at. As she came closer to her, she gently propped Tenten on to her lap and attempted to heal her as well. 

"No Sakura! Don't heal me! Save your chakra! I'm okay and I'll survive this. Go and fight Itachi!" Tenten pleaded her as she forcefully pulled out the katana out of her back. More blood gushed out into the air as she did this.

"Tenten-chan! Don't do that! And geez, your boyfriend told me the same thing!"

"Don't mind me! Just do as what the captain said, Sakura-chan! Now go!"

"Not until I move you into a safer place so you won't get hurt more," Sakura picked up her weakened body and teleported her to the nearest tree and gently laid her in the shade. After that, she teleported back to the battle scene.

* * *

"SAKURA-CHAN! STAY OUT OF THIS!" Naruto yelled down at Sakura. 

"HOW DARE YOU TELL ME THAT, NARUTO! I AM NOT BACKING OUT, GODAMMIT!" she yelled back.

_What happened to this girl? She can actually fight? _Sasuke thought to himself as he looked at this whole spectacle.

* * *

_I have no choice; I have to do this. I hope this works_…Sakura thought to herself as she gathered the specific amount of chakra she needed, took off her gloves, bit her thumb, did some quick seals, and thrusted her hands on to the ground. 

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" she yelled out. A swirl of smoke formed from under her. Her legs started to wobble and her emerald eyes grew wider. Next thing she knew, she was standing on top of her white and blue-speckled slug summon.

"Sakura-sama! I see you have finally summoned me," her giant slug summon politely said to her.

"Katsuya! I will need your help here. Will you please offer this to me?" Sakura went down on one knee and gently patted her newly achieved summon.

Katsuya observed her surroundings and wondered why she needed help. Her curiosity was answered when she saw Gamabunta and Manda.

"Oh my! This is like the time Tsunade-sama summoned me to fight Orochimaru, alongside Jiraiya!" the giant slug responded.

"Ahh I see that Katsuya has made an appearance as well," Gamabunta said while fastening the katana back into his mouth.

Meanwhile, good old Team 7 stared at her and her summon in awe.

_Sakura-chan, I am so proud of you! _Naruto thought as he let out a gentle smile. He finally took off his ANBU mask, which revealed his grown up, handsome face.

_S-Sakura? She has improved since I last left her in Konoha. I wonder what else this woman can do_…Sasuke let a smirk plaster his good-looking, mature face.

"OKAY GUYS! Now it's time to PLAY!" she exclaimed as she pulled off her ANBU mask to reveal her beautiful face.

_What the fuck? Why are these pathetic people using summons?_ Itachi thought to himself as he looked up into the sky to see a blur of purple, brown, and white.

"You fucking idiots, will you stay out of this?" Sasuke exclaimed at them.

"NO SASUKE! We're going to ally with you and fight him off!" Naruto exclaimed back to him.

"What the hell is this, S-S-Sasuke-s-s-sama?" Manda asked in an annoyed tone.

"I don't fucking know, but it's irritating me," Sasuke answered.

"Shut up, Sasuke! We're here to help you…for now. Until then, we might have to fight you later if we need to subdue you," Sakura blurted out. Sasuke looked at her with a look of confusion.

_Whoa. What the hell? Did she just tell me to shut up? And did she drop out the suffix from my name? My, oh, my, she has changed!__This is going to be quite interesting!_ Sasuke thought to himself.

_I'm sorry Sasuke-kun, but I have to put up my tough façade for now…_Sakura thought to herself.

"Okay, enough with the camaraderie. My sole purpose here is to fight my brother, but if both of you want to interfere and ally with his pathetic ass, then let it be. I guess my foolish little brother is too weak to battle against me all by himself," Itachi proclaimed in a serious but somewhat mocking voice.

"You asshole! Manda! Attack him!" Sasuke angrily yelled. Manda picks up his tail end and slithers it towards Itachi so he can wrap it around him and squeeze him to death. He instantly dodges this but as he does this, Naruto orders Gamabunta to attack him with his katana. The giant frog tries to swing the katana to dismember the S-class criminal, but he uses another Kawarimi no Jutsu.

_This is going to be a little difficult than I thought._ Itachi thought to himself as he reappeared in the same location he was in.

"Katsuya, attack him!" Sakura ordered.

"Hai, Sakura-sama! Zesshi Nensan!" A thick and sticky poisonous substance spat out of the tiny mouth of the giant slug and it hit Itachi…or so they thought. It was another Kawarimi no Jutsu.

_It's a good thing I still have my good senses and reflexes, even though I have minimal eyesight._ Itachi smirked to himself.

_Damn, we need to at least get one hit!_ Sakura thought to herself as she balled up her fists on each side of her body.

Interrupted of her reverie, Sakura felt a presence behind her. It was too late; Itachi ended up behind her on top of Katsuya. He had a kunai at her throat.

"If you make one move, your throat will get slashed in half," Itachi whispered into her ear as she trembled with fear.

"SAKURA-CHAAAAAN!" Naruto screamed out.

Sasuke just observed what was going on and became speechless. He froze for a moment and didn't know what to do next. He wanted so badly to jump over there and protect Sakura from his powerful brother, but he didn't want to shed his brooding pride in front of them.

_Sakura, you fucking idiot, don't be a scaredy cat. Fight him back! FIGHT HIM BACK! _Inner Sakura screamed out in her head.

"Yeah right," she whispered back to Itachi with a smirk on her face. She maneuvered herself away from his grip and gathered up chakra into her right fist. She used her "Smashy, Smashy" power and punched him in the stomach with full force.

"GAH!" Itachi choked out as he flew off the giant slug.

_What the hell was that? Is this really Sakura?_ Sasuke thought as his onyx orbs widened in amazement.

As Itachi kept falling down, he turned into smoke and appeared as a log once again.

_Fuck, where did he go?_ Sakura cursed herself as she looked around. As she turned forward, she was met face-to-face with the brooding criminal.

"You despicable woman, you think that would do damage to me? I'll finish you off first!" he suddenly thrusted a kunai into her stomach. Sakura's emerald orbs widened and coughed out crimson droplets from her mouth. Her frail body lunged forward over his right arm. She clutched the kunai that impaled her. A crimson stain slowly spread through her white vestige.

"NOOOO! SAKURA-CHAN! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!" Naruto screamed out once again. He did some quick hand seals and belted out, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A vast number of his clones sprouted about, some on top of Gamabunta and the others at the ground.

"Let's go attack him, guys!" Naruto instructed to his clones. They all dashed towards Itachi's direction.

Sasuke cringed at the sight. He didn't know how to express how he truly felt at the moment. Internally, he was boiling up with rage and felt his heart crack at the sight of Sakura getting stab. He wanted to kill his evil brother even more.

_That fucker…deserves…to…BURN IN HELL!_ he screamed inside his head. His expression turned into an obvious frown and his lips were trembling. He gripped his katana harder and took on a fighting stance. He couldn't contain it anymore; he had to do something…now!

"ITACHI, YOU LOW-LIFE FUCKER! WHY DID YOU STAB SAKURA? YOU DESERVE TO DIE!" Sasuke suddenly screamed out as his Mangekyou Sharingan started to swirl in a quick motion within his eyes. He ordered Manda to make another attack.

* * *

Tsunade was trying to work on her daily pile of reports and scrolls that Shizune brought in. As she was doing so, she was enjoying some shots of sake. When she tried to take another shot from her saucer, she heard a tiny cracking sound form on it. She observed it with her hazel orbs. 

"Oh no. This is not good…" she solemnly concluded.

* * *

"…so yeah 'HUH-UH', that's how the mission went!" Kakashi rambled on with a slur in his voice. Anko and him were at the local bar with Asuma and Kurenai. They were drinking shots of sake as well. 

"I have to tell you all 'HUH-UH' about another mission—" Kakashi got interrupted by a cracking sound that formed on the saucer he was holding.

"Kaka-head, look at your saucer!" Anko pointed to it. Asuma and Kurenai turned their attention to the noticeable crack on the saucer.

Kakashi straightened himself up and realized that this wasn't an ordinary occurrence.

"This is not a good sign…"

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you all enjoyed that looooooong chapter! Next will be Part III! So stay tuned for that one!

* * *


End file.
